Spring Capital Management LLC Purchases 460 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Spring Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,034 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger comprises about 5.1% of Spring Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Spring Capital Management LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $8,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GWW. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 92,754.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 87,283 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $906,700,000 after buying an additional 87,189 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,815,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,653.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 56,978 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $60,058,000 after purchasing an additional 53,729 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.9% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 154,324 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $139,237,000 after purchasing an additional 47,053 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the third 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 last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock traded up $2.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,113.05. The stock had a trading volume of 697,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,983. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $855.01 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,133.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,051.69. The company has a market cap of $54.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.97 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Bank of America started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $925.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,140.56.

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.