Parallel Advisors LLC Buys 165 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the third 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. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,679,911,000 after acquiring an additional 40,992 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,208,610,000 after acquiring an additional 28,626 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 42,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $491,170,000 after purchasing an additional 58,978 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $974.12 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,043.54 and its 200 day moving average is $1,076.79. The stock has a market cap of $46.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $874.98 and a one year 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 net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on GWW. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on 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. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,151.50.

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.