Aviva PLC Reduces Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Aviva PLC lowered its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,603 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.12% of W.W. Grainger worth $60,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,775,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,413 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,479,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,369,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 242.1% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,699 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,434,000 after purchasing an additional 15,357 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the company’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 directly owned 1,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,758,355.06. This represents a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:GWW opened at $955.71 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $45.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $893.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $973.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,014.73.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $0.26. The firm 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 10.99% and a return on equity of 49.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.87 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. Analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price 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 note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,061.57.

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.