Advisors Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $974.12 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,043.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,076.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The stock has a market cap of $46.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.16, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly 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 previous year, the firm earned $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio 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.