W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Bought by Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 36.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 17.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,451,000 after acquiring an additional 204,507 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 751,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $520,163,000 after purchasing an additional 13,063 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 8.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $432,411,000 after buying an additional 47,731 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 455,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $315,478,000 after acquiring an additional 8,366 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 260,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $180,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on GWW. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded down $7.86 during trading on Friday, hitting $939.98. 39,334 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 231,774. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $46.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $980.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $872.58. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $641.95 and a 52-week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.55%.

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.