221 Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Bought by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $406,000. Wealth Management Nebraska bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $211,000. Drum Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $659,000. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 1,375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,449,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,605,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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 for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,021.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $49.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $1,063.16 and a 200-day moving average of $1,073.98. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. 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 (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the company posted $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued 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 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.