5,610 Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Acquired by Castleark Management LLC

Key Points

• Castleark Management acquired 5,610 shares of W.W. Grainger valued at approximately $6.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.7% of the company.
• Grainger reported quarterly earnings of $11.65 per share, exceeding estimates by $1.44, while revenue rose 10.1% year over year to $4.74 billion. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $44.25–$46.25.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $1,230.11 price target, while insiders sold 2,624 shares worth $3.23 million over the past three months. Grainger also raised its quarterly dividend to $2.49 per share.

Castleark Management LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 5,610 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $6,119,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president owned 399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $491,444.31. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total transaction of $1,795,446.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. This represents a 39.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291 over the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,381.46 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,323.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,192.23. 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 52 week low of $906.52 and a 52 week high of $1,419.91. The stock has a market cap of $65.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.16, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.03.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.79%.

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.

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