Valley National Advisers Inc. Purchases 15 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the 4th 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. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 124.3% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $838,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 16.8% during the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,616,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.86, for a total transaction of $496,430.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,758,355.06. This trade represents a 22.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $957.17 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $987.72 and its 200 day moving average is $1,017.45. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $893.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. 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 capitalization of $45.78 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.76 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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. Sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Loop Capital lowered their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,069.13.

About W.W. Grainger

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.