Prudential PLC Has $5.54 Million Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Prudential PLC decreased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 28.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,145 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 33.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 40,504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,900,000 after buying an additional 10,155 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.5% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 10,698 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,369,000 after buying an additional 1,353 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 63.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,129,000 after buying an additional 1,210 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 20.6% during the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 7,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,315,000 after buying an additional 1,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carmignac Gestion raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 181.9% during the first quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 2,743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after buying an additional 1,770 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 28th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $775.00 target price on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $795.00 to $790.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $647.00 to $653.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $734.63.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $710.78 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $741.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $700.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.21. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $483.19 and a fifty-two week high of $811.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The industrial products company reported $9.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.96 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $4.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.04% and a return on equity of 60.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 36.05 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 11th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 21.44%.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services in the United States, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety and security supplies, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance supplies, and metalworking and hand tools.