Public Sector Pension Investment Board Decreases Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

28 Nov 2024, 13:50 by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets Daily

Public Sector Pension Investment Board reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW – Free Report) by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,720 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.15% of W.W. Grainger worth $76,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth about $281,104,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 92,754.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 87,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $906,700,000 after purchasing an additional 87,189 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 563.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,232,000 after purchasing an additional 61,400 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 67.9% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 143,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $129,175,000 after buying an additional 57,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,815,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,109.00.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of GWW opened at $1,205.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $58.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.69, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $772.13 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $1,106.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,001.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.43 EPS. Analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

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