Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Sells 1,620 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA sharply reduced its W.W. Grainger stake in the first quarter, selling 1,620 shares and cutting its position by 74.4% to 556 shares worth about $588,000.
• Several company insiders sold shares recently, including the CFO and a vice president, with insiders selling a combined 4,112 shares worth about $4.89 million last quarter.
• W.W. Grainger reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and also raised its quarterly dividend to $2.49 per share from $2.26.

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA cut its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 74.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 556 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,620 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% in the 4th 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. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total transaction of $1,658,048.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. The trade was a 12.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value of $1,795,446.53. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. This trade represents a 39.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 4,112 shares of company stock worth $4,890,339 in the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $1,250.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased 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 note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,216.44.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,353.16 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average is $1,252.58 and its 200 day moving average is $1,143.22. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $906.52 and a 12-month high of $1,390.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $63.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.86 earnings per share. The business'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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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