W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Sold by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS cut its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 76.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,417 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 314.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total transaction of $385,518.97. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $491,444.31. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value of $1,795,446.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,624 shares of company stock valued at $3,232,291. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GWW. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,216.44.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,379.19 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1,292.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,167.16. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,390.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.09, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.03.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 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 company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.86 EPS. The business’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. On average, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $2.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 0.7%. W.W. Grainger’s 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.