W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Bought by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,812 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,789 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $13,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $258,792,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $966,451,000 after purchasing an additional 204,507 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,568.4% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 165,035 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $85,122,000 after purchasing an additional 155,143 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 654,682 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $364,168,000 after purchasing an additional 130,519 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,027,150 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $706,047,000 after purchasing an additional 100,380 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Loop Capital cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW traded down $34.58 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $966.27. 371,728 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 232,008. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.88. The company has a market cap of $47.48 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.14. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $979.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $854.91. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $625.97 and a 1-year high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.05 by $0.28. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.55%.

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.