Fmr LLC Has $1.69 Billion Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Fmr LLC lowered its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,603,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,352 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned about 3.29% of W.W. Grainger worth $1,690,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.7% in the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.3% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,727,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth approximately $922,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 345.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,608,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,130.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $942.43 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1,013.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,076.89. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (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 period last year, the firm earned $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio 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.