Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $54.75 Million Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,069 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned about 0.13% of W.W. Grainger worth $54,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Clear Street Markets LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of GWW traded down $10.39 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $954.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 236,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,308. The firm has a market cap of $46.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.14. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $641.95 and a 1-year high of $1,034.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $979.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $860.94.

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. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued 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 0.78%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $825.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.