Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Invests $230,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $175,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew 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 buying an additional 67,018 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in 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 acquiring an additional 53,729 shares during the period. Finally, 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 acquiring an additional 45,369 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $985.19 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.50 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $1,059.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,076.06.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $8.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 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.