Prudential PLC Sells 3,073 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Prudential PLC reduced its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,111 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,073 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $18,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,618,812,000 after buying an additional 40,376 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after acquiring an additional 45,369 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,194,747 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,256,400,000 after acquiring an additional 27,716 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $535,910,000. Finally, Amundi grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $491,170,000 after purchasing an additional 58,978 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,130.89.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

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

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.6 %

W.W. Grainger stock traded up $5.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $925.83. 62,803 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 251,015. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $874.98 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,001.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,074.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $44.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20.

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 net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.33 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is 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.