HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 373 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,549 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $14,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 526.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 55,555 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $58,558,000 after buying an additional 46,683 shares during the period. Cushing Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $1,085,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $3,968,000. Miller Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $581,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,268 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,391,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,151.50.

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W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW traded down $10.13 on Thursday, reaching $973.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 196,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,678. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $46.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1,041.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,076.14. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $874.98 and a 12-month 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 (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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.33 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast 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 announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is 21.18%.

W.W. Grainger 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.