C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors Acquires Shares of 6,097 W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,427,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $848,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 313.3% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,741,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 72.6% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 9,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,027.47 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,092.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,070.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market cap of $50.04 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.33 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,148.56.

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.