Natixis Advisors LLC Trims Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,402 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 774 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $14,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at $721,202,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at $536,916,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,627,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,853,714,000 after buying an additional 238,895 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 46.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 443,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $422,529,000 after buying an additional 140,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth about $63,913,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 2.5%

GWW stock opened at $1,082.62 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $893.99 and a 52 week high of $1,218.63. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,100.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,020.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.46 by ($0.01). 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.71 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid 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 payout ratio is currently 25.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

W.W. Grainger Company 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.