Vestcor Inc Has $3.73 Million Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc reduced its W.W. Grainger stake by 21.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,004 shares and leaving it with 3,700 shares valued at about $3.73 million.
• W.W. Grainger reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $11.65 topping estimates and revenue of $4.74 billion, up 10.1% year over year. The company also raised its 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 rating of Hold with a target price of $1,212.88.

Vestcor Inc cut its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 21.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,004 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 18.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,816,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 169.6% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,826 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,980,000 after acquiring an additional 2,407 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 35.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,388 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,051,000 after acquiring an additional 10,784 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW opened at $1,300.83 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $906.52 and a 52 week high of $1,306.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.41 billion, a PE ratio of 34.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,188.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,101.24.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.86 earnings per share. The business's quarterly 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a boost 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 payout ratio is currently 26.79%.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were 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 directly owned 2,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted 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. Stephens boosted their price target 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, May 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Three 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,212.88.

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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