Essex Financial Services Inc. Invests $233,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Essex Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at approximately $848,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 313.3% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $1,741,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 72.6% in the 3rd 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 boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 27.0% during 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 during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of several research reports. Loop Capital lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of GWW opened at $1,028.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $50.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,089.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,069.78. 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 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 in the prior year, the company posted $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.