American Century Companies Inc. Has $63.99 Million Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,711 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 712 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of W.W. Grainger worth $63,993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,074,702,000 after purchasing an additional 45,369 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after buying an additional 40,992 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,208,610,000 after acquiring an additional 28,626 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $568,188,000 after acquiring an additional 42,866 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $491,170,000 after acquiring an additional 58,978 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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, William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.7 %

GWW stock traded down $16.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $970.78. 72,622 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 246,305. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $874.98 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $1,030.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,076.42. The firm has a market cap of $46.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is presently 21.18%.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

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.