Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Acquires 148 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $17,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $942.43 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $874.98 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1,013.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,076.89.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (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 period last year, the company posted $8.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

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.