Swiss National Bank Sells 6,900 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $130,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GWW. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,074,702,000 after purchasing an additional 45,369 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after buying an additional 40,992 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,208,610,000 after acquiring an additional 28,626 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $568,188,000 after acquiring an additional 42,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $491,170,000 after acquiring an additional 58,978 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $954.67 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The company has a market cap of $46.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1,050.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,076.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business posted $8.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors 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 0.86%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 21.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,151.50.

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.