AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 4,792 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. by 8.0%, selling 4,792 shares and now holds 55,425 shares, which is valued at approximately $54.1 million.
• Several top hedge funds have increased their stakes in W.W. Grainger, with Vanguard Group acquiring a 1.1% increase and JPMorgan lifting its position by 10.1% in the first quarter.
• W.W. Grainger's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $9.97, missing expectations, while the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $2.26, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%.

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,425 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,792 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.12% of W.W. Grainger worth $54,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 34.3% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 47 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Columbia River Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,069.13.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.86, for a total transaction of $496,430.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,758,355.06. The trade was a 22.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.0%

W.W. Grainger stock traded down $9.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1,004.92. 276,533 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 297,168. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $893.99 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,008.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,018.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $48.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.07 by ($0.10). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.63% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.76 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 38.500-40.250 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is currently 22.94%.

W.W. Grainger 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.