California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 2,103 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,103 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $116,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW stock opened at $988.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $47.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1,024.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,077.69.

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 return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

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.