Norges Bank Buys Shares of 508,429 W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 508,429 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $535,910,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.04% of W.W. Grainger as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 report 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,151.50.

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W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW traded up $5.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $993.38. 140,424 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 285,168. 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 cap of $47.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,024.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,077.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm earned $8.33 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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