National Pension Service Raises Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,578 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.13% of W.W. Grainger worth $63,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 211.1% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 314.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. State of Wyoming increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 650.0% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,234.01 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $906.52 and a one year high of $1,286.56. The company has a market cap of $58.26 billion, a PE ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,166.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,089.45.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $2.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 26.79%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total transaction of $1,795,446.53. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on 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. Stephens boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,212.88.

About W.W. Grainger

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.