MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH Purchases Shares of 86 W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 86 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 978,154 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $810,586,000 after buying an additional 12,445 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 689,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $571,042,000 after acquiring an additional 11,460 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,411,000 after purchasing an additional 47,731 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $392,470,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 440,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $365,334,000 after purchasing an additional 10,940 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Baird R W lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $959.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW opened at $917.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.34, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $926.73 and a 200-day moving average of $927.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.19. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $674.41 and a 1-year high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.61 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.64%.

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.