Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $8.07 Million Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,736 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 326 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $8,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several research reports. Loop Capital cut their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.0 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $932.74 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $978.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $879.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.75, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.19. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $641.95 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18.

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

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

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.