Investment House LLC Reduces Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Investment House LLC cut its stake in W.W. Grainger by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,265 shares and leaving it with 9,559 shares worth about $9.65 million.
• W.W. Grainger reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $11.65 beating estimates and revenue of $4.74 billion topping forecasts; revenue rose 10.1% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $2.49 per share from $2.26, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $1,199.13.

Investment House LLC lowered its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,559 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,265 shares during the period. Investment House LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $9,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Accredited Investors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its stake 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 during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 650.0% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,199.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,244.53 on Wednesday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,140.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,074.34. The firm has a market cap of $58.75 billion, a PE ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $906.52 and a 12-month 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The business 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 revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were 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 owned 1,554 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $491,444.31. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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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