Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Purchases Shares of 1,039 W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Banco BTG Pactual S.A. initiated a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter, buying 1,039 shares valued at about $1.05 million.
• W.W. Grainger reported a strong quarter with EPS of $11.65 versus $10.21 expected and revenue of $4.74 billion, topping estimates and rising 10.1% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $2.49 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $1,212.88.

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,039 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,048,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GWW. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $518,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 34,269.9% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 435,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $439,407,000 after acquiring an additional 434,199 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth approximately $239,597,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,462,252,000 after acquiring an additional 104,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 899.0% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 94,737 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $95,594,000 after acquiring an additional 85,254 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value of $1,795,446.53. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. This trade represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743 in the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,315.93 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $1,208.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,113.40. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $906.52 and a 1-year high of $1,349.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $62.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.04.

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. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger's quarterly 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, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $2.49 dividend. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is 26.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. 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. 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, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,212.88.

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.

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