W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Stock Holdings Lifted by Vise Technologies Inc.

Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 56.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,401 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $34,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 420.0% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. EFG International AG purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at $37,000. John Boyer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.3%

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,396.23 on Wednesday. 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $906.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,419.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1,303.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,239.03.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.30 by $0.71. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 48.73% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.31 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 9th will be paid a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 9th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 25.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GWW. 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. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,350.00 to $1,375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,266.08.

W.W. Grainger 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.