E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Has $33.44 Million Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lowered its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,728 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 830 shares during the quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB owned approximately 0.07% of W.W. Grainger worth $33,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Busey Bank grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,148.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded up $1.61 on Thursday, reaching $1,044.53. 222,983 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 310,487. 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 fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,105.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,066.89.

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 in the previous year, the business earned $8.33 EPS. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 41.91 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio 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.