State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 9,650 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 37.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,650 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $14,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Arjuna Capital boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 4,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,899,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 5,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,329,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NDVR Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $993.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $674.41 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $959.32 and a 200-day moving average of $954.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Baird R W cut W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,014.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.