Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Acquires 61 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Busey Bank boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.6 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,008.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1,072.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,073.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $874.98 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market cap of $49.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.33 EPS. Equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 21.18%.

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.