Insider Selling: W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) CEO Sells $11,829,368.91 in Stock

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) CEO Donald Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total transaction of $11,829,368.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,035,434.45. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $994.17 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market cap of $47.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.11. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $893.99 and a 1-year high of $1,169.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $954.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $997.61.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 49.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.87 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 25.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $1,009.43.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 20.5% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $944,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,521,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth $5,841,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.