Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Acquires New Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 66,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,644 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth $242,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at $25,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $1,009.43.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $945.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $954.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,005.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.97 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $893.99 and a 52-week high of $1,221.32.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $0.26. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.63% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.87 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.35%.

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.