Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Acquires 162 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 79.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 365 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $360,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 34.3% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 47 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Columbia River Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at $65,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,116.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,026.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.74. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1,061.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,036.56. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $893.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $49.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $2.26 dividend. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.