Norges Bank Buys Shares of 514,304 W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 514,304 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $518,958,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the third 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,996,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,902,159,000 after buying an additional 13,779 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,230,214,000 after buying an additional 10,533 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 659,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $628,151,000 after buying an additional 3,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 477,693 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $482,016,000 after buying an additional 34,307 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on GWW shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,212.88.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,234.01 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $906.52 and a 12-month high of $1,286.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,166.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,090.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results 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. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.49 per share. 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. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 26.79%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,064.73, for a total value of $2,490,403.47. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,897,511.55. This represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

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.