Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,827 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,240 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.25% of W.W. Grainger worth $101,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $258,792,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 17.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,451,000 after buying an additional 204,507 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1,568.4% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 165,035 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $85,122,000 after buying an additional 155,143 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 654,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $364,168,000 after buying an additional 130,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 10.8% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,027,150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $706,047,000 after buying an additional 100,380 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $955.44 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $46.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $979.92 and a 200 day moving average of $862.80. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $641.95 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.05 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $825.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $913.89.

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.