W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 10.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,394 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $45,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth about $6,303,024,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $621,127,000. Amundi boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 24.1% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 363,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $494,244,000 after acquiring an additional 70,451 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 409,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $446,210,000 after acquiring an additional 9,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at approximately $407,051,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW opened at $1,474.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,318.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,249.07. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $906.52 and a 12-month high of $1,521.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.95.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.68 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $5.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 48.92% and a net margin of 11.17%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $10.21 EPS. Equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 47.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 9th will be paid a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 9th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 21.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GWW. Stephens upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,355.00 to $1,380.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,375.00 to $1,645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $1,400.00 price target on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,331.08.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, founded in Chicago in 1927, is a distributor of maintenance, repair and operating supplies. The company provides products such as safety equipment, tools, fasteners, electrical and plumbing supplies, material-handling equipment, and cleaning products. Grainger serves businesses, government agencies and other organizations through sales representatives, distribution centers, catalogs and digital platforms. Its operations include a high-touch distribution business in North America and online businesses serving customers in markets including the United States and Japan.