King Luther Capital Management Corp Has $5.68 Million Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

King Luther Capital Management Corp lowered its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 32 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at $848,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 313.3% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $1,741,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 27.0% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 9,270 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $981.16 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $874.98 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,052.04 and a 200-day moving average of $1,076.94. 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 firm has a market cap of $47.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released 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 net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

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.