Eagle Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 209,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 28,310 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger accounts for 0.9% of Eagle Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned 0.42% of W.W. Grainger worth $173,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GWW. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $966,451,000 after purchasing an additional 204,507 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 978,154 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $810,586,000 after buying an additional 12,445 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 751,855 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $520,163,000 after acquiring an additional 13,063 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 689,090 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $571,042,000 after acquiring an additional 11,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $432,411,000 after acquiring an additional 47,731 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
GWW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens upgraded W.W. Grainger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $959.44.
Read Our Latest Report on GWW
W.W. Grainger Stock Performance
Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded up $13.99 on Friday, reaching $921.46. The stock had a trading volume of 504,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,880. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $641.95 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18. The business's 50-day moving average price is $961.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $911.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.19. The stock has a market cap of $45.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.18.
W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The business's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.61 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.34 EPS for the current year.
W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.64%.
About W.W. Grainger
(Free Report)
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.
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