W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Position Raised by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 40.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,753 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of W.W. Grainger worth $31,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 196.0% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 24 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 316.7% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 25 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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 report on Monday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $1,009.43.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $959.64 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $953.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $998.43. The company has a market cap of $45.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.11. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $893.99 and a 12-month high of $1,189.64. 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 (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.87 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. Equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 is currently 25.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 103,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,035,434.45. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.