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

FourThought Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $522,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avestar Capital LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Busey Bank increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $648,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GWW. UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price on the stock. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of 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 target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.6 %

GWW stock opened at $1,003.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,067.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,074.45. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $874.98 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $48.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company posted $8.33 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.