Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $22,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Busey Bank lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $998.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $48.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,070.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,074.28. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 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.