W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Stock Bought by Vise Technologies Inc.

Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 56.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,401 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 420.0% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. John Boyer Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $35,000. EFG International AG purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of GWW opened at $1,396.23 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,419.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,303.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,239.03. The company has a market capitalization of $65.76 billion, a PE ratio of 35.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.95.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.30 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 48.73%. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.31 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 9th will be given a dividend of $2.49 per share. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on GWW. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,365.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Wolfe Research started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Stephens cut W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,266.08.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc is a distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) supplies for businesses, government agencies and other organizations. Its product offerings include safety equipment, tools, fasteners, electrical and plumbing supplies, material-handling equipment, cleaning and janitorial products, HVAC supplies, and facility-maintenance products.

The company also provides services designed to help customers manage procurement and workplace operations, including product selection support, inventory-management programs, digital purchasing tools, and technical assistance.