Horizon Investments LLC Raises Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Horizon Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 36,892 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 78 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.4% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 27.0% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 7.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 14,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $974.12 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $874.98 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,043.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,076.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.16, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

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 (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 company posted $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.