Spring Capital Management LLC Sells 281 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Spring Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 281 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger makes up about 5.3% of Spring Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Spring Capital Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $258,792,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 536.8% during the 2nd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 447,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $352,994,000 after buying an additional 377,309 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,372,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,447,721,000 after buying an additional 294,558 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,451,000 after buying an additional 204,507 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,568.4% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 165,035 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $85,122,000 after acquiring an additional 155,143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.5 %

GWW opened at $1,020.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $50.12 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $625.97 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $953.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $831.79.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.05 by $0.28. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on GWW. Loop Capital lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $825.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $913.89.

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.