W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 46,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,258 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $43,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 9.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,315,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 599 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $592,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,459,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Barclays upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on 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. One research analyst has 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $1,009.43.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,017.53 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $893.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,139.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $967.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $993.38. The stock has a market cap of $48.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.11.

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

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 25.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total value of $11,829,368.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,035,434.45. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

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.