BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Grows Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its W.W. Grainger stake by 14% in the first quarter, adding 1,538 shares to bring its total to 12,485 shares worth about $13.6 million.
• W.W. Grainger reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $11.65 beating estimates and revenue of $4.74 billion topping expectations. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $2.49 per share from $2.26.
• Analysts remain mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with an average target price of $1,217, while insiders have sold shares recently, including senior executives Jonny M. Leroy and Paige K. Robbins.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 14.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,485 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,538 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $13,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stance Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 197.6% in the fourth quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 3,982 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,018,000 after buying an additional 2,644 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 79.2% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,764 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,799,000 after purchasing an additional 1,664 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,392 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $605,000. Finally, Bayban purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $92,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens increased their price objective 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. DA Davidson began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $1,250.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,217.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,471.28. This trade represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of GWW opened at $1,364.88 on Monday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $906.52 and a 1 year high of $1,365.42. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,234.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,129.84. The firm has a market cap of $64.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the business posted $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $2.49 per share. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is 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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