Assetmark Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 159.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 124 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. State Street Corp lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the 3rd 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 period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 40,992 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 28,626 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted 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 worth $568,188,000 after purchasing an additional 42,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 324,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,956,000 after buying an additional 12,805 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. 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 research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $954.67 on Friday. 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 of $1,050.31 and a 200 day moving average of $1,076.17. 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 $46.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.