W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Stake Raised by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 18.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Pure Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth $287,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 128.8% in the 2nd quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 2,128 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares in the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 470.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 14,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,768,000 after buying an additional 11,916 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,455,000 after buying an additional 1,428 shares during the period. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3.6% during the third quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 63,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,120,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE GWW opened at $1,056.47 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $893.99 and a 1-year high of $1,139.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,002.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $991.23. The company has a market capitalization of $50.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.12.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.87 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,045.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $1,016.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total transaction of $14,128,119.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 107,862 shares in the company, valued at $104,929,232.22. This represents a 11.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155 in the last 90 days. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger 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.