W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Purchased by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 567 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 111.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at $75,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price on the stock. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE GWW opened at $1,007.06 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $874.98 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. 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 company has a market capitalization of $48.56 billion, a PE ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,054.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,076.00.

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 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 last year, the company earned $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend 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.