Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,076 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $17,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 196.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 24 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 316.7% during the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 25 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on GWW. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, December 29th. 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 stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. 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, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $1,016.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total value of $11,829,368.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,035,434.45. This represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,249,953.82. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,056.47 on Monday. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,002.66 and a 200 day moving average of $991.23. The stock has a market cap of $50.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.12.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $0.26. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 49.40%. The business had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

W.W. Grainger Profile

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.