Bridges Investment Management Inc. Buys 127 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 39.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 450 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Swedbank AB increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $201,413,000 after acquiring an additional 36,892 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,500,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northeast Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at $208,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on 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. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of GWW opened at $999.11 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,061.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,075.91. 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 earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS 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 last year, the company earned $8.33 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. 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.