Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 14,447 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 844,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,447 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger accounts for 0.7% of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 1.78% of W.W. Grainger worth $851,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 211.1% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. State of Wyoming increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 650.0% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of the 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 directly owned 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,897,511.55. The trade was a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on GWW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Stephens upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger 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 $1,300.83 on Friday. 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 $1,306.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,188.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,101.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $2.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.