Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 44 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 44 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 11.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,675,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,477,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at approximately $848,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on GWW. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on 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. 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on 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. 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 research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,000.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $48.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $874.98 and a 52-week 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $991.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,071.58.

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 return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.18%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.