Private Trust Co. NA Raises Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $211,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $201,413,000 after buying an additional 36,892 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,513,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,500,000 after acquiring an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 46.4% in the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Northeast Investment Management purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $999.11 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $48.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1,061.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,075.91.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $8.33 EPS. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, 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 for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,148.56.

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.