W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 56.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,480 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.16% of W.W. Grainger worth $68,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.4% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,167,913,000 after purchasing an additional 169,897 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.7% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $392,470,000. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 240,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $199,595,000 after acquiring an additional 42,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at $159,365,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $993.82 on Monday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $674.41 and a 1 year high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market cap of $48.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $959.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $954.71.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. Baird R W cut W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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 company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,014.11.

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.