MetLife Investment Management LLC Boosts Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $14,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norinchukin Bank The lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 2,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Ossiam raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 30,518.4% in the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 30,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,628,000 after purchasing an additional 29,908 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 63.7% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 36,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,343,000 after purchasing an additional 14,151 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 409,289 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $431,428,000 after buying an additional 20,176 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 134.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 31,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,801,000 after buying an additional 17,854 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of several recent research reports. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,130.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,002.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $988.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,070.98. The firm has a market cap of $48.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the firm posted $8.33 EPS. Equities analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

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.