UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Buys 561 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 40,376 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 worth $1,208,610,000 after acquiring an additional 28,626 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 42,866 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $491,170,000 after acquiring an additional 58,978 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $973.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $874.98 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,027.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,076.43.

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 return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

W.W. Grainger Company 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.