SJS Investment Consulting Inc. Has $298,000 Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

SJS Investment Consulting Inc. reduced its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 31 shares during the quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 92,754.3% during 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 buying an additional 87,189 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth about $55,815,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,653.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 56,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,058,000 after acquiring an additional 53,729 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after acquiring an additional 45,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $568,188,000 after purchasing an additional 42,866 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Loop Capital increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,122.01 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $870.99 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company has a market capitalization of $54.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,125.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,057.85. 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) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.