Pearl River Capital LLC Grows Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

19 Feb 2024

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Pearl River Capital LLC Grows Stake in WW Grainger Inc NYSEGWW

Pearl River Capital LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,888 shares of the industrial products company's st

Pearl River Capital LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,888 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the quarter. Pearl River Capital LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $966,451,000 after buying an additional 204,507 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,744 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $91,838,000 after buying an additional 6,980 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,621,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,699,000. 71.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 2,478 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $788.68, for a total transaction of $1,954,349.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,095,558.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 2,478 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $788.68, for a total transaction of $1,954,349.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $71,095,558.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,850 shares of company stock worth $5,121,311 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 9.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on GWW. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $930.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $842.22.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on GWW

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE GWW traded down $7.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $935.80. The company had a trading volume of 176,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 293,994. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $866.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $778.26. The stock has a market cap of $46.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.13. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $625.97 and a 52-week high of $978.95.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.05 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. The company's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.24 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.55%.

About W.W. Grainger

(Free Report)

W.W. Grainger, Inc distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services in the United States, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety and security supplies, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance supplies, and metalworking and hand tools.