McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC Takes $519,000 Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 492 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $519,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in 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 period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after buying an additional 40,992 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 28,626 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $568,188,000 after acquiring an additional 42,866 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 324,367 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $336,956,000 after acquiring an additional 12,805 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW traded up $2.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $1,113.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 697,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,983. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $1,133.37 and a 200 day moving average of $1,052.65. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $855.01 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

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.