Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 950 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Nomura Asset Management increased its W.W. Grainger stake by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 950 more shares and bringing its total holding to 54,275 shares valued at about $54.8 million.
• W.W. Grainger reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $11.65 versus estimates of $10.21 and revenue of $4.74 billion topping forecasts. The company also raised FY 2026 guidance to 44.25-46.25 EPS.
• The company boosted its quarterly dividend to $2.49 per share from $2.26, while analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating and an average target price of $1,212.88.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,275 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 950 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.11% of W.W. Grainger worth $54,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 310 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 1,567 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,581,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 112.9% in the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 1,793 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,809,000 after buying an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 75,434 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $76,117,000 after buying an additional 3,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 21,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,735,000 after buying an additional 4,540 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total transaction of $1,795,446.53. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. This trade represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total value of $1,658,048.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,745,625.48. This represents a 12.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.0%

GWW stock opened at $1,234.01 on Monday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,166.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,090.43. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $906.52 and a one year high of $1,286.56. The stock has a market cap of $58.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.86 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $2.49 per share. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is 26.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective 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 report on Friday, May 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,212.88.

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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