Bancreek Capital Management LP Sells 1,478 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Bancreek Capital Management cut its W.W. Grainger stake by 36.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,478 shares and leaving it with 2,541 shares worth about $2.56 million.
• Insiders have been selling shares too, including CFO Deidra C. Merriwether and VP Laurie R. Thomson; company insiders sold 6,451 shares over the last 90 days.
• Grainger reported strong results and raised its dividend, beating earnings and revenue estimates for the quarter and increasing its quarterly payout to $2.49 per share from $2.26.

Bancreek Capital Management LP lowered its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 36.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,541 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,478 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger comprises 10.7% of Bancreek Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Bancreek Capital Management LP's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Mattern Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 12,234 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,345,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at about $4,205,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 20.4% in the third quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 5,947 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,667,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 212.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,215 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $55,795,000 after buying an additional 36,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 109,723 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $104,562,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,064.73, for a total transaction of $2,490,403.47. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,897,511.55. The trade was a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was 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 directly owned 399 shares of the company's stock, valued at $491,444.31. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on GWW. Stephens lifted their target price on 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. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,212.88.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.4%

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,285.87 on Thursday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,179.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,097.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.58, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,296.03.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger's revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $2.49 per share. This is a boost 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 presently 26.79%.

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.

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