Sustainable Growth Advisers LP Sells 21,729 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Sustainable Growth Advisers LP cut its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 229,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 21,729 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger comprises 1.6% of Sustainable Growth Advisers LP’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP owned approximately 0.48% of W.W. Grainger worth $231,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $518,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 34,269.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 435,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $439,407,000 after buying an additional 434,199 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,462,252,000 after buying an additional 104,607 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 899.0% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 94,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $95,594,000 after buying an additional 85,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 96.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 149,920 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,896,000 after buying an additional 73,714 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total value of $1,658,048.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,745,625.48. The trade was a 12.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of 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. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,212.88.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,242.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $58.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $906.52 and a 1 year high of $1,286.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,170.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,092.51.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $2.49 dividend. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

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.