756,802 Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Purchased by Parnassus Investments LLC

Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 756,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $721,202,000. W.W. Grainger makes up about 1.7% of Parnassus Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Parnassus Investments LLC owned about 1.58% of W.W. Grainger 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 GWW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,627,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,853,714,000 after acquiring an additional 238,895 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,982,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,062,041,000 after purchasing an additional 8,735 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,260,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,306,289,000 after purchasing an additional 23,418 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth $536,916,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 15.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 473,771 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $492,836,000 after buying an additional 62,675 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,029.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $48.97 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.12. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,139.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $981.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $990.75. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS 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 given a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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 research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $1,009.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,953.82. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total transaction of $11,829,368.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,885 shares in the company, valued at $101,035,434.45. This represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.