Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC reduced its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 909 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $7,885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at $721,202,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth about $536,916,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,627,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,853,714,000 after acquiring an additional 238,895 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 443,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $422,529,000 after acquiring an additional 140,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $63,913,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total value of $14,128,119.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 107,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,929,232.22. This trade represents a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,045.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One research 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $1,016.57.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,051.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $50.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1,005.20 and its 200 day moving average is $991.25. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $893.99 and a 52 week high of $1,139.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.72.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $0.26. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 49.40%. The business had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. Research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.35%.

W.W. Grainger Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc (NYSE: GWW) is an industrial supply distributor founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services to businesses, institutions and government customers. Over its long history Grainger has developed a broad product assortment and a national distribution network that supports operations across a range of end markets, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, transportation and public sector organizations.

Grainger’s product portfolio spans core categories such as electrical and lighting, safety and personal protective equipment, material handling, motors and power transmission, plumbing and HVAC, fasteners and adhesives, hand and power tools, and janitorial and facility supplies.