Investment House LLC Reduces Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Investment House LLC reduced its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,824 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,178 shares during the period. Investment House LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $10,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3.3% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 313 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 1,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,415,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,644,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,056.47 on Friday. The stock 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. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,002.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $991.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $893.99 and a 52-week high of $1,139.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.40% and a net margin of 9.75%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.87 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,929,232.22. This trade represents a 11.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155 in the last quarter. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,045.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $1,016.57.

About W.W. Grainger

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.