Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Cuts Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lowered its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 21 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 21.8% during the second quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Vectors Research Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 19.0% during the second quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC now owns 2,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,438,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at $879,000. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the second quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 14,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,682,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at $212,000. 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 $972.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.82. The company has a market cap of $46.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $982.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,015.25. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $893.99 and a fifty-two week 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). The business had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.63% and a net margin of 10.99%.W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.76 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 38.500-40.250 EPS. As a group, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.86, for a total value of $496,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,758,355.06. This trade represents a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GWW. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on 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 dropped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,053.71.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.