Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 36.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on GWW. Loop Capital lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $913.89.

Insider Activity

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

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock traded down $7.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $939.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 39,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 231,774. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $641.95 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18. The company has a market capitalization of $46.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.96, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.14. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $980.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $872.58.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.61 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. 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 currently 20.55%.

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.