Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,217,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 10,533 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,230,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.6% during the 4th 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 grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the 4th 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. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 6.0% during the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total transaction of $385,518.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $491,444.31. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total transaction of $1,795,446.53. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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 report on Friday, May 8th. Oppenheimer raised 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 report on Wednesday, February 4th. Stephens lifted their price target 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,212.88.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.2%

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,247.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,162.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,088.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.57, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,286.56.

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

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.79%.

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.