Donaldson Capital Management LLC Invests $3.97 Million in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,968,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE GWW opened at $1,015.25 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,053.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,076.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $48.95 billion, a PE ratio of 26.23, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted 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 return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

W.W. Grainger 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.