W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Purchased by Entropy Technologies LP

Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 175.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 worth $2,074,702,000 after purchasing an additional 45,369 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of 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 worth $1,679,911,000 after purchasing an additional 40,992 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $1,208,610,000 after acquiring an additional 28,626 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 42,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 12,805 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upped 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $1,028.34. 219,427 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 296,287. 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 cap of $50.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.17. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $1,089.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,069.78. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.33 EPS. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.