W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Bought by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 680.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 40,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,655 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $43,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $251,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,083,000. Zacks Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 97.5% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kane Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $573,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.7 %

GWW opened at $1,002.12 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $988.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,070.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. 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 market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,130.89.

About W.W. Grainger

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.