Prudential PLC Purchases 4,509 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 106.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,738 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,509 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $7,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Optas LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copperwynd Financial LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Baird R W lowered W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,014.11.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $972.14 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $674.41 and a 12 month high of $1,034.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $47.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $953.40 and a 200 day moving average of $954.08.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The company’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.64%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total value of $467,667.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.