W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,228 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.09% of W.W. Grainger worth $42,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Pure Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $287,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 128.8% during the second 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 during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 470.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 14,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,768,000 after buying an additional 11,916 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,455,000 after buying an additional 1,428 shares during the period. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3.6% in the 3rd 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 during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,056.47 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,002.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $991.23. The company has a market capitalization of $50.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.63, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.12. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $893.99 and a 1-year high of $1,139.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $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. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,045.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased 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 research note on Tuesday, November 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $1,016.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,929,232.22. This trade represents a 11.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $199,666.35. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155 over the last 90 days. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.