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

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 200,558 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,799 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.42% of W.W. Grainger worth $208,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at about $274,000. Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $287,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 128.8% during the 2nd quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 2,128 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,198 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 15,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,795,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,428 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $1,009.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.86, for a total value of $496,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,758,355.06. This trade represents a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $969.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $46.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.11. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,195.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $952.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,001.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 49.40%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.87 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.35%.

About W.W. Grainger

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.