Pacer Advisors Inc. Purchases 1,440 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 40.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,440 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 5,011 shares worth about $5.06 million.
• W.W. Grainger reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates with $11.65 EPS and $4.74 billion in revenue, while also raising its full-year guidance to 44.25–46.25 EPS.
• The company boosted its quarterly dividend to $2.49 per share from $2.26, and analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $1,199.13.

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 40.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,011 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.0% during the third quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 212 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.3% during the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 3,958 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,772,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGH Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 3.9% during the third quarter. AGH Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on GWW. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Three 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,199.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,064.73, for a total value of $2,490,403.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,897,511.55. This trade represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,252.57 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,130.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,065.91. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $906.52 and a 12-month high of $1,286.56. The stock has a market cap of $59.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. The firm 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%. W.W. Grainger's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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