Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $15.40 Million Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,620 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $15,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Busey Bank grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Welch & Forbes LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $971.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,038.34 and a 200-day moving average of $1,075.33. The company has a market capitalization of $46.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

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.