Clare Market Investments LLC Takes $1 Million Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Clare Market Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 23.5% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $201,413,000 after purchasing an additional 36,892 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 58,961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,249,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $240,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $295,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 78 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE GWW opened at $1,007.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $48.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $874.98 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,054.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,076.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced 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 net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 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.