Vest Financial LLC Raises Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,431 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 542 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger accounts for 1.0% of Vest Financial LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.11% of W.W. Grainger worth $55,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Realta Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 824 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $868,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $243,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $3,606,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 5,148 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,426,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. UBS Group began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $1,280.00 target price for the company. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of GWW stock traded down $18.89 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $1,027.47. 345,087 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 299,035. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $874.98 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.17. The company's 50-day moving average price is $1,092.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,070.07.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share 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 paid a $2.05 dividend. 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 payout ratio 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.