Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Boosts Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 49.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,984 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 993 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger comprises about 0.6% of Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth approximately $75,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,086.69 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $52.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,139.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,047.21. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $833.50 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on GWW. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of 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 issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,140.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.