W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Bought by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 41.1% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 515 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 5.1% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC now owns 613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $638,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth about $94,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth about $230,000. Finally, Northeast Investment Management acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth about $208,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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 research report on Friday, July 11th. 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. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,053.71.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $978.66 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $982.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,016.68. The company has a market cap 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 released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.76 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 38.500-40.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.94%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the business’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 directly owned 1,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,758,355.06. The trade was a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.