W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Purchased by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 40.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth about $239,597,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 443,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $422,529,000 after purchasing an additional 140,869 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $5,462,252,000 after purchasing an additional 104,607 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 899.0% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 94,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $95,594,000 after purchasing an additional 85,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 96.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 149,920 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,896,000 after purchasing an additional 73,714 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,252.57 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $59.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $906.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,286.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,130.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,065.91.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.24 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of 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. Stephens raised 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 research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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 research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,199.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on 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 owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. The trade was a 12.37% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

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.