W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Purchased by Stevens Capital Management LP

Stevens Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 376.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 861 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $175,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 694.1% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 76,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,818,000 after acquiring an additional 67,018 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $491,170,000 after acquiring an additional 58,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $55,815,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of GWW opened at $971.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $874.98 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,038.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,076.14.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $8.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS 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 issued a $2.05 dividend. 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%.

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.