Advisory Services Network LLC Raises Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 22.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 641 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,618,812,000 after buying an additional 40,376 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,194,747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,256,400,000 after buying an additional 27,716 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $542,126,000 after purchasing an additional 115,290 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $535,910,000. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $491,170,000 after purchasing an additional 58,978 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on 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. Wolfe Research cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 4.9 %

GWW stock opened at $964.83 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $995.91 and its 200-day moving average is $1,072.96. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $874.98 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market cap of $46.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $8.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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 0.85%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 6.10% 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.