Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Purchases 85 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $20,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 7,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,278,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,671,000. APG Asset Management N.V. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,226,000. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 3,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,734,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 94.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 11,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,601,000 after purchasing an additional 5,335 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,130.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $992.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $874.98 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $993.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,072.13.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share 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 prior year, the firm earned $8.33 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

W.W. Grainger 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.