W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Purchased by Bell Investment Advisors Inc

Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 208.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 188 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth $285,574,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 822,411 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $812,403,000 after buying an additional 75,644 shares during the last quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth about $67,601,000. Interval Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,429.9% in the 1st quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 67,957 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,130,000 after acquiring an additional 63,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,388,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,322,801,000 after acquiring an additional 57,690 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.86, for a total value of $496,430.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,758,355.06. This trade represents a 22.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $925.90 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $966.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,012.28. The firm has a market cap of $44.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $893.99 and a 12-month high of $1,227.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on GWW. Barclays boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $1,018.00.

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.