Verus Capital Partners LLC Grows Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Verus Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 24.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 76 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,074,702,000 after acquiring an additional 45,369 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after purchasing an additional 40,992 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,208,610,000 after purchasing an additional 28,626 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 42,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 324,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $336,956,000 after buying an additional 12,805 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,021.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,063.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,073.98. The company has a market cap of $49.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $874.98 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.33 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company 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 report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.