William Blair Weighs in on W.W. Grainger, Inc.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:GWW)

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) – Investment analysts at William Blair lifted their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for W.W. Grainger in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, April 25th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $10.58 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $10.19. The consensus estimate for W.W. Grainger’s current full-year earnings is $39.30 per share.

GWW has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Loop Capital cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $929.26 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $45.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $979.95 and its 200 day moving average is $876.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. W.W. Grainger has a 1-year low of $641.95 and a 1-year high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.61 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.54%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $11,075,000. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 23.4% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 633 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.3% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 71,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,638,000 after acquiring an additional 7,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 82,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,984,000 after acquiring an additional 8,865 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

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.