Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 103 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 103 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,074,702,000 after buying an additional 45,369 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after purchasing an additional 40,992 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,208,610,000 after purchasing an additional 28,626 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $568,188,000 after purchasing an additional 42,866 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $491,170,000 after purchasing an additional 58,978 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $967.57 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1,050.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,076.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $874.98 and a one year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.18%.

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.