W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Stock Holdings Raised by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $20,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.9% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,775,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,369,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 242.1% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,699 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,434,000 after purchasing an additional 15,357 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.4% during the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $955.71 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $973.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,014.89. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $893.99 and a 52 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 cap of $45.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.87 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,061.57.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.