HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 482 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $10,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,208,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,280.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $60.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.64, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,335.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,244.09. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $906.52 and a 1-year high of $1,419.91.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.30 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 48.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.97 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 45.500-47.250 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on GWW. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,460.00 to $1,428.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,166.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,350.00 to $1,375.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Stephens cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,286.62.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc is a distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products and related services. The company serves businesses, government agencies and other organizations that need supplies to maintain facilities, equipment and operations. Its product categories include tools, safety equipment, material handling products, cleaning and maintenance supplies, electrical and lighting products, plumbing supplies, HVAC equipment and fasteners.

Founded in 1927 by William W. Grainger, the company has grown from a regional electrical-equipment distributor into a global MRO provider.