Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.9%, now owning 20,218 shares valued at approximately $21 million.
• W.W. Grainger reported a miss in earnings for the last quarter, with earnings per share at $9.97, below the consensus estimate of $10.07, but revenue was up 5.6% year-over-year.
• Several research firms have recently adjusted their price targets for W.W. Grainger, with JPMorgan raising it slightly to $1,050 while Royal Bank of Canada lowered it to $1,007.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $21,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 701 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $692,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 5.3% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,095 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,033,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 1,685.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 911.6% in the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,069,000 after buying an additional 1,887 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on GWW. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Loop Capital cut their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. Barclays began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $963.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,053.71.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $968.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The business's 50 day moving average price is $982.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,016.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.33 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66.

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

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,758,355.06. The trade was a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

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.

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