Jones Financial Companies Lllp Boosts Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 61.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 6,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,340,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 450 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $453,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on GWW. 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. reduced their price objective on 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. UBS Group began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,007.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,055.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,074.87. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $874.98 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the firm posted $8.33 EPS. Research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

W.W. Grainger 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.