Vest Financial LLC Has $49.66 Million Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Vest Financial LLC cut its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 52,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,936 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.11% of W.W. Grainger worth $49,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 30 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.3% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 313 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.4% during the second quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 1,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,415,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,046.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.72. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $893.99 and a 52-week high of $1,139.15. The firm has a market cap of $49.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s fifty day moving average is $995.13 and its 200-day moving average is $990.75.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $4.66 billion for 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%.W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter 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. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total transaction of $14,128,119.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,862 shares in the company, valued at $104,929,232.22. This trade represents a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. Barclays lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased 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 report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,045.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $1,016.57.

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.