EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $201,413,000 after buying an additional 36,892 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 225.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 78 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,874,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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 dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $977.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $47.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,045.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,076.86.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted 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 period last year, the firm posted $8.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 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.