Miller Financial Services LLC Makes New Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Miller Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 111.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price for the company. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on 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. decreased their target price on 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,015.25 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1,053.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,076.94. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $874.98 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.23, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.33 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

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.