Forsta AP Fonden Increases Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 19.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $21,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $5,322,801,000 after purchasing an additional 57,690 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 10.1% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 416,086 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $410,975,000 after acquiring an additional 6,797 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 306,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $303,095,000 after acquiring an additional 13,330 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter worth approximately $285,574,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,758,355.06. The trade was a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on GWW. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,018.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $944.82 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $893.99 and a twelve month high of $1,227.44. The stock has a market cap of $44.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $969.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,013.43.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued 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. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.63% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.87 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.35%.

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.