Huntington National Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Huntington National Bank trimmed its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at approximately $285,574,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.1% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 822,411 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $812,403,000 after purchasing an additional 75,644 shares during the last quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at approximately $67,601,000. Interval Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,429.9% during the first quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 67,957 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,130,000 after purchasing an additional 63,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.1% during 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 last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.86, for a total value of $496,430.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,758,355.06. This represents a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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 report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,059.86.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $961.79 on Thursday. 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 fifty day moving average price of $976.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,015.23. 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 market cap of $45.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.17.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $0.26. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 49.63%. The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.87 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.