United Asset Strategies Inc. Invests $851,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

United Asset Strategies Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $851,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth approximately $536,916,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,627,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,853,714,000 after acquiring an additional 238,895 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 473,771 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $492,836,000 after acquiring an additional 62,675 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 241,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,716,000 after acquiring an additional 35,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $29,023,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,035,434.45. This represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,033.69 on Friday. 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 market cap of $49.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $980.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $990.81.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.40% and a net margin of 9.75%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.87 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a $2.26 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 25.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $1,009.43.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.