Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 162 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 162 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Swedbank AB increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 23.5% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $201,413,000 after purchasing an additional 36,892 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,320,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 14.8% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.3% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 58,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,171,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 6,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,889,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE GWW opened at $973.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,039.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,075.42. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.33 EPS. On average, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.18%.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools.