Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 620 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 620 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $20,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Avestar Capital LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. This represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. Loop Capital boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,158.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,137.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,017.80. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $800.97 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

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.