Swiss National Bank Has $116.60 Million Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.28% of W.W. Grainger worth $116,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stephens upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $931.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $641.95 and a 1 year high of $1,034.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $977.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $881.00.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.61 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.27 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.54%.

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.