W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Stock Unloaded Rep. Josh Gottheimer

Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey) recently sold shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. NYSE: GWW. In a filing disclosed on January 14th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in W.W. Grainger stock on December 12th. The trade occurred in the Representative's "MORGAN STANLEY - SELECT UMA ACCOUNT # 1" account.

Representative Josh Gottheimer also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Block NYSE: SQ on 12/30/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group NYSE: GS on 12/30/2024.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Ambev NYSE: ABEV on 12/27/2024.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Grupo Financiero Banorte OTCMKTS: GBOOY on 12/27/2024.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Cadre NYSE: CDRE on 12/27/2024.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Coloplast A/S OTCMKTS: CLPBY on 12/27/2024.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Intuitive Surgical NASDAQ: ISRG on 12/23/2024.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Trane Technologies NYSE: TT on 12/23/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Walmart NYSE: WMT on 12/20/2024.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of NVIDIA NASDAQ: NVDA on 12/19/2024.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW traded up $16.49 on Thursday, reaching $1,109.85. 300,739 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 277,374. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1,136.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,048.83. The stock has a market cap of $54.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.09, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $836.84 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643 in the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $848,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 72.6% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,045 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 9,270 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 27.0% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 313.3% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,521 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Asset Management LLC VA lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 2,285 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several research reports. Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer downgraded W.W. Grainger from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $1,280.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,140.56.

About Representative Gottheimer

Josh Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing New Jersey's 5th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2017. His current term ends on January 3, 2025. Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey's 5th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2024 election. Gottheimer was first elected to the House in 2016. Prior to his election, Gottheimer worked for Microsoft, the Federal Communications Commission, and for the administration of President Bill Clinton (D). Click here for more information about Gottheimer's career. Gottheimer serves on the House Financial Services Committee, where is a member of three subcommittees. For more on Gottheimer's committee assignments, click here. Gottheimer became a co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus in February 2017. Gottheimer attended the University of Pennsylvania for his undergraduate degree. He became a Thouron Fellow at Oxford and attended Harvard Law School. Gottheimer worked as a speech writer under former President Bill Clinton (D), assisting with two State of the Union addresses, among other projects. Before running for Congress, he worked for Microsoft as a general manager for corporate strategy.

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.