Wells Fargo & Company MN Sells 24,519 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company MN trimmed its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 24,519 shares and still holding 953,959 shares valued at about $962.6 million.
• Grainger reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $11.65 topping estimates by $1.44 and revenue of $4.74 billion exceeding forecasts. Revenue rose 10.1% year over year, and the company reiterated FY2026 guidance of 44.25 to 46.25 EPS.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $2.49 from $2.26, putting the annualized payout at $9.96 per share. Analysts currently have a consensus rating of “Hold,” though several firms recently lifted their price targets.

Wells Fargo & Company MN lessened its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 953,959 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 24,519 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 2.01% of W.W. Grainger worth $962,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mattern Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 12,234 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $12,345,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 212.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,215 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $55,795,000 after acquiring an additional 36,855 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 96,382 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $91,848,000 after buying an additional 2,596 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 160.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 68,139 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $68,756,000 after buying an additional 41,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 176.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,558 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,485,000 after buying an additional 995 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,314.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,212.72 and a 200 day moving average of $1,114.81. The company has a market capitalization of $62.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.36, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $906.52 and a 1-year high of $1,349.74.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $2.49 dividend. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted 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 research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,212.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value of $1,795,446.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,471.28. This trade represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GWW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.