W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Acquired by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 19.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $21,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 7.7% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 7.8% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,840,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $944.82 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $893.99 and a 12 month high of $1,227.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $969.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,013.43. The company has a market cap of $44.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.97, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.63% and a net margin of 10.99%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.87 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,018.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.86, for a total transaction of $496,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,758,355.06. The trade was a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

About W.W. Grainger

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.