Truist Financial Corp Reduces Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Truist Financial Corp lessened its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 11.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,300 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $17,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.3% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 313 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 1,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,415,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,644,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW opened at $1,079.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $51.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,016.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $992.55. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,103.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 49.40%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GWW. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Oppenheimer upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,250.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,045.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,045.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,953.82. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total value of $14,128,119.63. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,862 shares in the company, valued at $104,929,232.22. This trade represents a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Profile

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.