Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Has $19.03 Million Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,268 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,446 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $19,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $54,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,123.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

W.W. Grainger stock traded up $13.24 on Friday, hitting $1,028.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 375,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,744. The firm has a market cap of $49.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,056.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,042.53. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $888.75 and a one year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 51.28%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

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.