768 Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Acquired by ZEGA Investments LLC

ZEGA Investments LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $861,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GWW. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $971.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,038.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,075.33. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $874.98 and a 52 week 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 earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the company earned $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.