W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Stake Lessened by Wrapmanager Inc.

Wrapmanager Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 43 shares during the quarter. Wrapmanager Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the third 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after buying an additional 40,992 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 worth $1,208,610,000 after buying an additional 28,626 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 42,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 324,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $336,956,000 after acquiring an additional 12,805 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of 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. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $998.55 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 $48.15 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,070.01 and its 200-day moving average is $1,074.28. 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 results 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 return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.33 EPS. On average, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. W.W. Grainger’s 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.