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

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 30.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,211,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,627,000. Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,903,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,724,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE GWW opened at $971.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1,038.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,075.33. The company has a market capitalization of $46.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

About W.W. Grainger

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.