Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Lowers Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL trimmed its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 46.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,114 shares during the quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northeast Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth $208,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth $29,023,000. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth $509,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $963.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,053.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,758,355.06. This represents a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of GWW stock opened at $956.36 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $982.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,015.35. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $45.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $893.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 49.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.76 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 38.500-40.250 EPS. Equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. 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 22.94%.

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.