Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Decreases Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL decreased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 180 shares during the quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,034 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,144,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,975,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 13,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,024,000 after acquiring an additional 2,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $425,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $995.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $47.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,010.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,018.69. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $893.99 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.07 by ($0.10). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.63% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.76 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 38.500-40.250 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given 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, August 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,069.13.

W.W. Grainger 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.