Franklin Resources Inc. Has $651.78 Million Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 618,361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,951 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.27% of W.W. Grainger worth $651,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,618,812,000 after acquiring an additional 40,376 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,074,702,000 after purchasing an additional 45,369 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,208,610,000 after purchasing an additional 28,626 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $535,910,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $491,170,000 after buying an additional 58,978 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $988.35 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $47.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1,024.86 and its 200-day moving average is $1,077.69.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.33 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.18%.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.