W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Sold by Farther Finance Advisors LLC

Farther Finance Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 45.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 781 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 640 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 52.6% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 30 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 313 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 5.4% in the second quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Burney Co. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.6% in the second quarter. Burney Co. now owns 1,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,828,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was 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 owned 103,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,035,434.45. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped 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 report on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of 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. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $1,009.43.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,021.92 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $973.64 and a 200-day moving average of $991.61. The firm has a market cap of $48.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.11. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $893.99 and a twelve month high of $1,139.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 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.