Allstate Corp Invests $1.56 Million in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,562,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.4% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,633,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 443,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $422,529,000 after acquiring an additional 140,869 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC now owns 724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 2,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,092,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 7.7% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the 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 directly owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,249,953.82. This represents 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 at the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 107,862 shares in the company, valued at $104,929,232.22. This represents a 11.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $1,016.57.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,034.50 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $893.99 and a 12 month high of $1,139.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.01, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $995.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $990.75. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $0.26. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.40% and a net margin of 9.75%.The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.87 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $2.26 per share. 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 dividend 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.