Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 238,895 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,627,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 238,895 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of W.W. Grainger worth $5,853,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 7.7% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,555,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 296.3% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 3,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,327,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,758,355.06. This represents a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $1,018.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $918.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $893.99 and a twelve month high of $1,227.44. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $963.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,010.28.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 49.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.87 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.35%.

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.