Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 6,027 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,027 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $12,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,627,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,853,714,000 after acquiring an additional 238,895 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,982,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,062,041,000 after purchasing an additional 8,735 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,260,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,306,289,000 after purchasing an additional 23,418 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth $721,202,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $536,916,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total value of $11,829,368.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,035,434.45. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,249,953.82. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,060.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,117.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $53.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.10. 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 price is $1,056.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,000.83.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.46 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.The company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.71 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 25.54%.

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.