Stephens Inc. AR Reduces Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,197 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 316.7% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 52.6% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.86, for a total transaction of $496,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.3%

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $965.38 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $893.99 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $982.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,015.21. 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 market capitalization of $46.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the business posted $9.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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. As a group, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $2.26 per share. 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, August 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $963.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,053.71.

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.