IFM Investors Pty Ltd Invests $9.87 Million in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

IFM Investors Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,052 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,874,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 211.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted 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 report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 price target on the stock. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,216.44.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,343.92 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,267.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,153.02. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $906.52 and a one year high of $1,390.96. The firm has a market cap of $63.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $385,518.97. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 399 shares in the company, valued at $491,444.31. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was 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 directly owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291 in the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.