Bank of Montreal Can Has $99.37 Million Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 94,271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 478 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $99,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,130.89.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.5 %

GWW opened at $919.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,001.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,074.25. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $44.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. 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 (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.18%.

About W.W. Grainger

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.