W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) CFO Deidra Merriwether Sells 2,339 Shares

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) CFO Deidra Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,064.73, for a total transaction of $2,490,403.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,897,511.55. This trade represents a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW traded up $9.64 on Wednesday, reaching $1,075.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 181,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 281,471. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $893.99 and a twelve month high of $1,218.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1,106.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,023.17. The stock has a market cap of $50.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.38, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.The business had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.71 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 25.54%.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,169,000 after buying an additional 987 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth $4,205,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 5,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 60,164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,334,000 after acquiring an additional 2,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 109,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $104,562,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,080.38.

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.