Prudential PLC Sells 843 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Prudential PLC reduced its W.W. Grainger stake by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 843 shares and ending with 6,418 shares valued at about $6.48 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 raised its quarterly dividend to $2.49 per share from $2.26, and analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with a target price of $1,212.88.

Prudential PLC lowered its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,418 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 843 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,462,252,000 after purchasing an additional 104,607 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,996,053 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,902,159,000 after acquiring an additional 13,779 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,834 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,230,214,000 after acquiring an additional 10,533 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 659,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $628,151,000 after acquiring an additional 3,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $518,958,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,300.83 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,188.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,101.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $906.52 and a 12-month high of $1,306.51. The firm has a market cap of $61.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.99, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.86 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 45.34 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $2.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price 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 report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Stephens upped 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 report on Monday, May 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,212.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total transaction of $385,518.97. Following the sale, the vice president owned 399 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $491,444.31. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743. Corporate 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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