W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Purchased by Stevens Capital Management LP

Stevens Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 376.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,090 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 861 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 23.5% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $201,413,000 after buying an additional 36,892 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,233 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,320,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.9% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,828 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,938,000 after purchasing an additional 2,022 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 229 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 3.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,666 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $295,714,000 after purchasing an additional 8,552 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of GWW traded down $1.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $987.04. The stock had a trading volume of 140,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 236,214. The company has a market cap of $47.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $1,030.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,076.42. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $874.98 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share 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 firm earned $8.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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.