UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Acquires 561 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $973.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The stock 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. The company’s 50 day moving average is $1,027.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,076.43.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. 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.