W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Purchased by BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 96.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,475 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned 0.12% of W.W. Grainger worth $54,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 94.4% in the second quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 6,993 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,309,000 after purchasing an additional 3,395 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 39.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.4% during the second quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 58.5% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,005,000 after acquiring an additional 7,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 80.2% during the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 573 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GWW. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Baird R W lowered W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,017.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $984.92 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $674.41 and a 12-month high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $947.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $953.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.28 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.1 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

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.