Voya Investment Management LLC Has $85.25 Million Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 42.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89,665 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,699 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.19% of W.W. Grainger worth $85,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth about $536,916,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,627,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,853,714,000 after acquiring an additional 238,895 shares in the last quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at approximately $67,601,000. Interval Partners LP grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 1,429.9% in the first quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 67,957 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,130,000 after acquiring an additional 63,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 473,771 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $492,836,000 after purchasing an additional 62,675 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on GWW. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $1,009.43.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,025.12 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,139.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $963.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $995.46. The stock has a market cap of $48.74 billion, a PE ratio of 28.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.11.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.87 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc (NYSE: GWW) is an industrial supply distributor founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services to businesses, institutions and government customers. Over its long history Grainger has developed a broad product assortment and a national distribution network that supports operations across a range of end markets, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, transportation and public sector organizations.

Grainger’s product portfolio spans core categories such as electrical and lighting, safety and personal protective equipment, material handling, motors and power transmission, plumbing and HVAC, fasteners and adhesives, hand and power tools, and janitorial and facility supplies.