Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 443 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 443 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $8,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.5% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.0% during the third quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 3,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,772,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.1%

GWW opened at $1,233.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $58.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.17, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,286.56. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,121.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,058.34.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 43.61 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.49 per share. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total transaction of $1,658,048.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. This represents a 12.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting W.W. Grainger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Grainger beat Wall Street expectations with Q1 EPS of $11.65 versus $10.21 expected, and revenue of $4.74 billion versus $4.58 billion expected, signaling stronger-than-anticipated demand. Grainger Reports Results for the First Quarter 2026
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its FY2026 guidance, now targeting EPS of $44.25 to $46.25 and revenue of $19.2 billion to $19.6 billion, above consensus estimates, which reinforces confidence in continued growth. Grainger Reports Results for the First Quarter 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted strong services demand, margin expansion, and robust performance across both business segments, while also announcing a 10% quarterly dividend increase and continued share repurchases. Grainger Reports Results for the First Quarter 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on GWW to $1,337 from $1,170, but kept a “sector perform” rating, suggesting valuation upside is recognized but the firm remains cautious on near-term relative performance. Benzinga report on RBC price target increase

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research 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 stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,159.14.

W.W. Grainger 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.