Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $8.83 Million Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lessened its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW – Get Rating) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 497 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $8,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 2,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,148,000 after buying an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $22,549,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 67,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,513,000 after purchasing an additional 3,022 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 158.5% during the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,029 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,244 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 82,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,784,000 after purchasing an additional 10,356 shares during the last quarter. 71.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 49,121 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $694.36, for a total transaction of $34,107,657.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,715,446.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.74, for a total value of $325,460.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,183,553.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 49,121 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $694.36, for a total value of $34,107,657.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 80,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,715,446.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,220 shares of company stock valued at $37,505,841. 9.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of GWW stock opened at $681.78 on Monday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $440.48 and a one year high of $709.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.70 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $670.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $629.23. The stock has a market cap of $34.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.19.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The industrial products company reported $9.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.57 by $1.04. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.65% and a return on equity of 61.00%. The company had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 35.78 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.72. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 5th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on GWW. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $750.00 to $800.00 in a report on Monday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $502.00 to $679.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $785.00 to $800.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. 92 Resources restated a “maintains” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $537.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $704.88.

W.W. Grainger Profile

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W.W. Grainger, Inc is a supplier of maintenance, repair, and operating products, with operations in North America, Japan, and the United Kingdom. It operates through the following segments: High-Touch Solutions N.A., Endless Assortment, and Other. The High-Touch Solutions N.A. segment is involved in value-added MRO solutions that are rooted in deep product knowledge and customer expertise.