BankPlus Trust Department Purchases New Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,153 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,377,000. W.W. Grainger makes up approximately 1.4% of BankPlus Trust Department’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 23.5% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $201,413,000 after acquiring an additional 36,892 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,549,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,340,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of 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. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,008.08 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1,072.84 and a 200 day moving average of $1,074.09.

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 EPS. As a group, 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.18%.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.