Forsta AP Fonden Increases Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 26.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 4,540 shares to bring its total to 21,540 shares valued at about $21.7 million.
• W.W. Grainger beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $11.65 EPS versus $10.21 expected and revenue of $4.74 billion versus $4.58 billion expected. Revenue rose 10.1% year over year, and the company raised its FY 2026 EPS guidance to 44.25-46.25.
• The company boosted its quarterly dividend to $2.49 from $2.26, while analysts maintained a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $1,212.88. Meanwhile, several insiders sold shares in recent transactions.

Forsta AP Fonden lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 26.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,540 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $21,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GWW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,816,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 169.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,826 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,980,000 after acquiring an additional 2,407 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 35.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,388 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,051,000 after acquiring an additional 10,784 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,234.01 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $906.52 and a 1 year high of $1,286.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $1,166.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,089.45. The firm has a market cap of $58.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.19, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.W.W. Grainger's revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.86 EPS. 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 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 issued a $2.49 dividend. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,212.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were 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 owned 2,232 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GWW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.