Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 45 W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at about $848,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 313.3% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,741,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 72.6% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 9,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 27.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,312,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,046.62 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,095.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,070.37. The company has a market cap of $50.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.17. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 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.