Advantage Trust Co Takes Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 90 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,388,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,322,801,000 after buying an additional 57,690 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.1% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 822,411 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $812,403,000 after buying an additional 75,644 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 416,086 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $410,975,000 after buying an additional 6,797 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 306,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,095,000 after buying an additional 13,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at about $285,574,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $970.85 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $46.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $982.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,015.55. 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 (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.76 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 38.500-40.250 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid 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 0.9%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.94%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,758,355.06. This trade 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective 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 report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $963.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,053.71.

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.