Prudential Financial Inc. Buys 6,054 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 18.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,054 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of W.W. Grainger worth $40,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,618,812,000 after buying an additional 40,376 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,074,702,000 after acquiring an additional 45,369 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,679,911,000 after purchasing an additional 40,992 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,208,610,000 after purchasing an additional 28,626 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $568,188,000 after purchasing an additional 42,866 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of GWW opened at $989.47 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,034.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,077.68. The firm has a market cap of $47.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the business posted $8.33 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. 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.