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

Investment House LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 16.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 196.0% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 24 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 316.7% in the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 25 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 136.4% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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 report on Tuesday, November 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $1,016.57.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW opened at $1,056.47 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,139.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,002.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $991.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.72.

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

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 (DPR) is presently 25.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 107,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,929,232.22. The trade was a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 worth $26,157,155 in the last quarter. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.