Xponance Inc. Acquires 215 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $10,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,627,000. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,903,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,724,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 47.2% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,559,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on GWW. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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 assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $974.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $874.98 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,043.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $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.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company posted $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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