Bey Douglas LLC Sells 1,136 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Bey Douglas LLC decreased its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,136 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger accounts for approximately 3.0% of Bey Douglas LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Bey Douglas LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pure Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at $287,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its position in 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 worth $2,214,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares in the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 470.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 14,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,768,000 after acquiring an additional 11,916 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position 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 valued at $20,455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 27,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,548,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. 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 research report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $1,016.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,035,434.45. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,058.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $997.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $991.23. 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 capitalization of $50.34 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.12.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results 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. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 49.40%. The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.87 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors 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 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 (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.