Rep. Josh Gottheimer Sells Off Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

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 Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,093.92 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $833.50 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.27 billion, a PE ratio of 29.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,138.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,048.51.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued 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). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643 in the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

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.