Hantz Financial Services Inc. Raises Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW traded up $8.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $1,122.46. 90,190 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 268,410. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. The business's 50 day moving average is $1,122.75 and its 200-day moving average is $1,063.45. The company has a market capitalization of $54.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 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 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. W.W. Grainger's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.23%.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.