Pensionfund Sabic Has $1.63 Million Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Pensionfund Sabic boosted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 24.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Pensionfund Sabic’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.0% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% in the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% in the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW traded up $4.25 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $1,058.24. 22,507 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 112,901. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,144.15 and a 200 day moving average of $1,040.78. The company has a market capitalization of $51.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $806.08 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66.

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

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.