Employees Provident Fund Board Invests $7.87 Million in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Employees Provident Fund Board purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 7,803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,874,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,081,554,000 after buying an additional 1,003,237 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $518,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 34,269.9% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 435,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $439,407,000 after acquiring an additional 434,199 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 61.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,027,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,036,584,000 after acquiring an additional 389,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth about $239,597,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,217.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total transaction of $385,518.97. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 399 shares in the company, valued at $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743 in the last three months. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,364.88 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,365.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,234.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,128.54. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $64.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted 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. 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 analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.79%.

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.