Algebris UK Ltd Acquires Shares of 1,138 W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Algebris UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 1,138 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,158,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,211,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,627,000. Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,903,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,724,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price 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 price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, 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. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.3 %

GWW stock opened at $974.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $46.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,043.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,076.79. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. 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 (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 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 prior year, the firm posted $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.