Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Sells 1,200 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

23 Jan 2024, 15:02 by Sarita Garza · The Markets Daily

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lessened its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW – Free Report) by 16.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 35 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 71.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 250 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Monday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $801.50, for a total transaction of $200,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 911 shares in the company, valued at $730,166.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 2,478 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $788.68, for a total value of $1,954,349.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,095,558.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 250 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $801.50, for a total value of $200,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 911 shares in the company, valued at $730,166.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,167 shares of company stock worth $4,685,312. Corporate insiders own 9.90% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW stock opened at $876.66 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $43.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.11. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $556.77 and a 1 year high of $879.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $819.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $756.67.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The industrial products company reported $9.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.85 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 58.02% and a net margin of 11.16%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.27 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 36.37 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 13th were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 10th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on GWW. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $825.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $930.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $775.25.

Check Out Our Latest Report on GWW

W.W. Grainger Profile

(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.