Parnassus Investments LLC Purchases New Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 756,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $721,202,000. W.W. Grainger comprises about 1.7% of Parnassus Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,627,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,853,714,000 after purchasing an additional 238,895 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,982,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,062,041,000 after buying an additional 8,735 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,260,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,306,289,000 after buying an additional 23,418 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at $536,916,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 15.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 473,771 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $492,836,000 after acquiring an additional 62,675 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on GWW. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $1,009.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,953.82. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total transaction of $14,128,119.63. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 107,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,929,232.22. This represents a 11.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,029.97 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $981.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $990.75. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,139.15. The stock has a market cap of $48.97 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $0.26. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.40% and a net margin of 9.75%.The company had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.87 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 25.35%.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc (NYSE: GWW) is an industrial supply distributor founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services to businesses, institutions and government customers. Over its long history Grainger has developed a broad product assortment and a national distribution network that supports operations across a range of end markets, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, transportation and public sector organizations.

Grainger’s product portfolio spans core categories such as electrical and lighting, safety and personal protective equipment, material handling, motors and power transmission, plumbing and HVAC, fasteners and adhesives, hand and power tools, and janitorial and facility supplies.