Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Grows Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,313 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Swedbank AB lifted its position in 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 during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 225.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 78 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at $362,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth $284,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,862 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. 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. dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley upped 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $968.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,046.85 and a 200 day moving average of $1,076.04. The company has a market capitalization of $46.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66.

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 in the previous year, the firm posted $8.33 EPS. On average, 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

About W.W. Grainger

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.