W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Purchased by Quent Capital LLC

Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 23.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 45,369 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,208,610,000 after acquiring an additional 28,626 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 42,866 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 324,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,956,000 after purchasing an additional 12,805 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target 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 issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,046.62 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $50.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,095.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,070.37.

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 (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 last year, the company earned $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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