Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 1,697 W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 1,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,617,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,462,252,000 after buying an additional 104,607 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 8,735 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 23,418 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth $721,202,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $536,916,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the sale, the vice president owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,082.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $51.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.59, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,100.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,020.67. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $893.99 and a twelve month high of $1,218.63.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.71 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,071.38.

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.