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

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,627,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 238,895 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.77% of W.W. Grainger worth $5,853,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $1,555,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 296.3% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the first 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 buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Loop Capital dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $1,018.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $918.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $963.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,010.28. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $893.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.44. The firm has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.17.

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

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the business’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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,758,355.06. The trade was a 22.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.