Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Has $30.58 Million Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $30,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Algebris UK Ltd bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,158,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,211,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,627,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $973.46 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,039.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,075.42. The company has a market cap of $46.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company posted $8.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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