Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC Buys New Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $174,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 2,188 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,427,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 2,853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,007,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,023.20 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $874.98 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,080.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,072.69. The stock has a market cap of $49.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

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 (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 previous year, the business earned $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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,148.56.

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.