AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Sells 26,146 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 70.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 26,146 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $11,657,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth about $274,000. Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth about $287,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 128.8% in the second quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 2,128 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,214,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 7.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 15,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,795,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1,685.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on GWW. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered 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 report on Monday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $963.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,053.71.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $978.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $982.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,016.68. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $893.99 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.83, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.82.

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 the consensus estimate of $10.07 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 49.63%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.76 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 38.500-40.250 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $2.26 per share. 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 22.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related 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 transaction of $496,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,758,355.06. This trade represents a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company 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.