Rhumbline Advisers Purchases 2,596 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96,382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,596 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.20% of W.W. Grainger worth $91,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 197.6% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 23,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,092,000 after purchasing an additional 15,392 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 15.2% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,069 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.3% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,192,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth about $360,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 7.1%

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,117.30 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $893.99 and a one year high of $1,218.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,056.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,000.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.59.

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

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total transaction of $11,829,368.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,885 shares in the company, valued at $101,035,434.45. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note 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 report on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,060.13.

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.