PDS Planning Inc Has $511,000 Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

PDS Planning Inc increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after acquiring an additional 45,369 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after acquiring an additional 40,992 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,208,610,000 after acquiring an additional 28,626 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $568,188,000 after acquiring an additional 42,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 459,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $491,170,000 after acquiring an additional 58,978 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three 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 company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $974.12 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $46.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1,043.54 and its 200 day moving average is $1,076.79.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 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.