Nomura Holdings Inc. Purchases 1,103 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 81.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,451 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $801,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $425,000. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,162,000. NDVR Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. NDVR Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 13,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,024,000 after acquiring an additional 2,684 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on 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. Finally, William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,120.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.7%

GWW stock opened at $1,102.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,000.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,065.46. The company has a market cap of $52.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its 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 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.