Legal & General Group Plc Has $379.74 Million Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 360,268 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 72,483 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.74% of W.W. Grainger worth $379,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $535,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $267,529,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $175,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 514,326 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $542,126,000 after acquiring an additional 115,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 694.1% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 76,674 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $80,818,000 after purchasing an additional 67,018 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,130.89.

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W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded up $32.19 on Friday, hitting $992.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 395,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 253,408. The company has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. 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 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The stock's 50-day moving average is $993.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,072.32.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (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 prior year, the business posted $8.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is 21.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.