Versant Capital Management Inc Has $170,000 Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 47.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GWW. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after buying an additional 45,369 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,679,911,000 after purchasing an additional 40,992 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,208,610,000 after purchasing an additional 28,626 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $568,188,000 after purchasing an additional 42,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $324,841,000 after purchasing an additional 17,699 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was 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 represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,053.99 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,144.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,039.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $806.08 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market cap of $51.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on GWW. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,140.56.

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.