Oxbow Advisors LLC Has $611,000 Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Oxbow Advisors LLC cut its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 28.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 229 shares during the quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 694.1% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 76,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,818,000 after acquiring an additional 67,018 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth $55,815,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,653.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 56,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,058,000 after buying an additional 53,729 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 45,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $568,188,000 after buying an additional 42,866 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE GWW opened at $1,008.08 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,072.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,072.39. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.09 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earned $8.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,148.56.

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.