Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 872 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.07% of W.W. Grainger worth $29,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during 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 buying an additional 238,895 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,982,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,062,041,000 after acquiring an additional 8,735 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,260,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,306,289,000 after acquiring an additional 23,418 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth $721,202,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at $536,916,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total value of $14,128,119.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased 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 report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $1,016.57.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,056.47 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $893.99 and a 52 week high of $1,139.15. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,002.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $991.90. The company has a market cap of $50.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.12.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.87 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s 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. Equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were given 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 (DPR) is presently 25.35%.

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.