Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Grows Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 47.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,261 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 5,570 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $18,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 314.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on GWW. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson initiated 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. Weiss Ratings cut W.W. Grainger from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on 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. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,216.44.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $491,444.31. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,624 shares of company stock valued at $3,232,291 in the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,343.92 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $906.52 and a 12 month high of $1,390.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,271.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,154.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $63.45 billion, a PE ratio of 36.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.03.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

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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