Spring Capital Management LLC Has $8.15 Million Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Spring Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger accounts for about 4.4% of Spring Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Spring Capital Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $8,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. United Community Bank grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total value of $301,056.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on GWW. Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,073.61 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $874.98 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,024.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,058.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The firm has a market cap of $51.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 23.21%.

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.