Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 6,797 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.7% in Q1, now holding 416,086 shares valued at approximately $410.98 million.
• W.W. Grainger's Q2 earnings report showed a miss on EPS estimates, reporting $9.97 against expectations of $10.07, while revenue increased by 5.6% year-over-year.
• Analysts have varying price targets for W.W. Grainger, with some increases by firms like JPMorgan Chase & Co., while others, such as Royal Bank Of Canada, have lowered their targets to $1,007.00.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 416,086 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,797 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.87% of W.W. Grainger worth $410,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, Columbia River Financial Group LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GWW. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,080.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total value of $301,056.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE GWW traded up $3.8540 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $999.2540. 200,670 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 287,769. The company's 50-day moving average is $1,022.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,021.22. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $893.99 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.82. The company has a market capitalization of $47.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.18.

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

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be 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 is Monday, August 11th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is currently 22.94%.

About W.W. Grainger

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.