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

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lowered its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW – Get Rating) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 1,568.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 165,035 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $85,122,000 after purchasing an additional 155,143 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 136.5% during the 3rd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 215,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $105,616,000 after buying an additional 124,600 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,558,676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,719,249,000 after buying an additional 116,455 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,192,981 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,072,784,000 after acquiring an additional 80,677 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 22.9% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 289,588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,367,000 after acquiring an additional 54,008 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.76% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:GWW 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 market cap of $34.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.19. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $670.99 and a 200-day moving average of $629.23.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The industrial products company reported $9.61 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.07 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 35.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. Loop Capital upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $750.00 to $800.00 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $730.00 to $760.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $785.00 to $800.00 in a research report on Friday, April 28th. 92 Resources reaffirmed a “maintains” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $704.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 49,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 80,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,715,446.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction of $34,107,657.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 80,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,715,446.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 476 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.74, for a total transaction of $325,460.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,183,553.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,220 shares of company stock worth $37,505,841. Insiders own 9.90% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Profile

(Get Rating)

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.