JGP Wealth Management LLC Has $14.86 Million Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

JGP Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger comprises approximately 1.9% of JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $14,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 160.8% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 45.1% in the fourth quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 13,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,805,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 496.6% during the fourth quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 49.9% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,984 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,145,000 after buying an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on GWW. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,109.85 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $54.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $836.84 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,136.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,048.83.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.97 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. 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.