FourThought Financial Partners LLC Invests $522,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $522,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 694.1% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 76,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,818,000 after acquiring an additional 67,018 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,815,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1,653.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 56,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,058,000 after acquiring an additional 53,729 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 45,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in 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 valued at $568,188,000 after acquiring an additional 42,866 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One research 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE GWW opened at $1,003.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,067.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,074.45. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 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 in the previous year, the business earned $8.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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 given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s 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.