Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Decreases Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Robeco Institutional Asset Management cut its stake in W.W. Grainger by 54.8% in Q4, selling 7,925 shares and ending the period with 6,528 shares valued at about $6.59 million.
• Grainger's latest quarter reported EPS of $9.45 (missing by $0.01) with revenue up 4.5% to $4.43 billion, and the company set FY2026 guidance of 42.25–44.75 EPS versus a sell-side consensus of ~40.3 EPS.
• The CFO sold 1,488 shares under a Rule 10b5-1 plan (a 12.37% reduction in her holdings); insiders now own 6.3% of the stock while institutions own about 80.7%.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. reduced its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 54.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,528 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,925 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.'s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GWW. Accredited Investors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 211.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,143.95 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $906.52 and a 1-year high of $1,218.63. The stock has a market cap of $54.14 billion, a PE ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,118.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,037.28.

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

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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 report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,096.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total value of $1,658,048.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,745,625.48. The trade was a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 6.30% of the stock is currently 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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