First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 200,558 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,799 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $208,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 9,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,769,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 51.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 473,771 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $492,836,000 after acquiring an additional 62,675 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at $521,000. Finally, Groupe la Francaise grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 3,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 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. 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 company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $1,009.43.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.86, for a total value of $496,430.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,758,355.06. The trade was a 22.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $969.24 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $893.99 and a 12-month high of $1,195.31. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $952.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,001.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.09 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.40% and a net margin of 9.75%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.87 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. As a group, analysts expect 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, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.35%.

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.