Alliancebernstein L.P. Boosts Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,173 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,347 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.15% of W.W. Grainger worth $77,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on 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, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,130.89.

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W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW traded up $26.82 on Tuesday, hitting $950.67. 54,565 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 289,092. The business's fifty day moving average is $1,009.26 and its 200 day moving average is $1,076.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. 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 (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.18%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

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.