W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Acquired by Advisor OS LLC

Advisor OS LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 32.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the quarter. Advisor OS LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after purchasing an additional 45,369 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after acquiring an additional 40,992 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the third 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 period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 12,805 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,012.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,064.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,073.55. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $48.81 billion, a PE ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17.

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 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 firm earned $8.33 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 21.18%.

About W.W. Grainger

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.