Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 4,394 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 10.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,394 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.08% of W.W. Grainger worth $45,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GWW. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,303,024,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth approximately $621,127,000. Amundi increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 24.1% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 363,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $494,244,000 after purchasing an additional 70,451 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 409,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $446,210,000 after purchasing an additional 9,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $407,051,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on GWW. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,427.00 to $1,582.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $1,400.00 price target on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,331.08.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

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

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.68 by $0.86. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 48.92%. The business had revenue of $5.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 47.63 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

W.W. Grainger Profile

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.