Alliancebernstein L.P. Raises Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,173 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,347 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $77,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Busey Bank boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, United Community Bank raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of 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 lowered their target price on shares of 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. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,130.89.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $972.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $46.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.13, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,017.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,076.46. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $8.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

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.