Montecito Bank & Trust Acquires Shares of 1,645 W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Montecito Bank & Trust bought a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,568,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 316.7% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 25 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 136.4% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total transaction of $11,829,368.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,035,434.45. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,953.82. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE GWW opened at $1,020.37 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $893.99 and a 52 week high of $1,139.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $961.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $995.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $48.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.11.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company 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 forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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 note on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $1,009.43.

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.