W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Acquired by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 102.5%, owning 1,148 shares valued at approximately $1.13 million after an additional purchase during the 1st quarter.
• W.W. Grainger reported a quarterly EPS of $9.97, missing the consensus estimate of $10.07, while year-over-year revenue increased by 5.6% to $4.55 billion.
• Recently declared a quarterly dividend of $2.26 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 102.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,148 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $684,042,000 after buying an additional 691,783 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at about $285,574,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $718,769,000 after purchasing an additional 84,595 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 10.1% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 822,411 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $812,403,000 after buying an additional 75,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,388,378 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,322,801,000 after acquiring an additional 57,690 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price 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 report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,080.38.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded down $5.9980 during trading on Thursday, reaching $993.6320. 208,872 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 288,009. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $1,020.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,021.06. The firm has a market cap of $47.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $893.99 and a 12-month 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.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $10.07 by ($0.10). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 49.63%. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.76 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 38.500-40.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.94%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.