Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.2%, selling 1,317 shares to hold 538,347 shares (about 1.13% of the company) valued at roughly $513,023,000 at quarter-end.
• W.W. Grainger reported quarterly EPS of $9.45 (missing estimates by $0.01) with revenue of $4.43 billion (up 4.5% YoY and above estimates), and set FY2026 guidance of 42.25–44.75 EPS.
• Institutional investors own about 80.7% of the stock; the company pays a quarterly dividend of $2.26 ($9.04 annual, ~0.8% yield), and analysts carry a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target near $1,071.38.

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 0.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 538,347 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,317 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 1.13% of W.W. Grainger worth $513,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GWW. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 136.4% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3,900.0% in the second quarter. Tobam now owns 40 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.3%

GWW stock opened at $1,109.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.10. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $893.99 and a 52 week high of $1,218.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,099.42 and a 200 day moving average of $1,020.23.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.46 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.71 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,071.38.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 3,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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