Bessemer Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,854 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 955 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $8,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GWW. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price 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 report 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, March 10th. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,130.89.

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Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of GWW stock traded down $14.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $985.73. 306,331 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 253,257. The stock has a market cap of $47.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $991.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,071.58. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.33 EPS. Equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

W.W. Grainger 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.