Aberdeen Group plc Increases Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 16.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 6,280 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $47,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 316.7% in the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 25 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 52.6% in the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Barclays initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $963.00 price objective on the stock. 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 note on Friday, July 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,073.88.

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 on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.86, for a total value of $496,430.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,758,355.06. This represents a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of GWW stock opened at $946.61 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $981.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,016.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 1.64. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.07 by ($0.10). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 49.63%. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.76 EPS. The company’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, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.94%.

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.