Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases New Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 175,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $175,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 694.1% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 76,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,818,000 after purchasing an additional 67,018 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at about $55,815,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,653.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 56,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,058,000 after buying an additional 53,729 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,074,702,000 after acquiring an additional 45,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $568,188,000 after acquiring an additional 42,866 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. 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 on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of 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, UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of GWW opened at $967.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,050.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,076.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $874.98 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

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 the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio 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.