W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Purchased by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 8.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 19,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,446 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $19,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. United Community Bank grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 4,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,089,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.6%

NYSE GWW opened at $1,024.37 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $888.75 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,055.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,044.43. The firm has a market cap of $49.21 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.21.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

W.W. Grainger 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.