Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Acquires 981 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Bank Julius Baer increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 981 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 6,103 shares valued at about $6.23 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but generally constructive, with analysts including Stephens, JPMorgan, Barclays, and Sanford C. Bernstein adjusting price targets upward; the stock currently carries an average “Hold” rating and a consensus target of $1,199.13.
• Grainger reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates and raising its quarterly dividend to $2.49 from $2.26, while insiders also sold shares in recent months.

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 981 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Accredited Investors Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 211.1% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 650.0% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 25.5% in the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens increased 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 note on Monday. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays increased 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 report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective 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. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,199.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 10,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. This trade represents a 12.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,282.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.50, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,133.04 and a 200 day moving average of $1,068.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.60. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $906.52 and a 1-year high of $1,286.56.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period last year, the business earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

W.W. Grainger News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting W.W. Grainger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Grainger’s recent quarterly results beat Wall Street expectations on both earnings and revenue, and management raised full-year guidance, supporting the stock. 3 Industrial Stocks That Just Crushed Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised earnings estimates across several future periods, including FY2027, signaling stronger profit expectations for W.W. Grainger. W.W. Grainger stock page
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays also published a positive outlook for GWW, adding to the constructive analyst sentiment around the stock. Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for W.W. Grainger NYSE: GWW Stock Price
• Negative Sentiment: Three insiders, including vice presidents and a senior vice president, sold shares on May 12, which can sometimes be viewed as a cautious signal by investors. SEC filing for Paige K. Robbins sale

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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