W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Bought by ProShare Advisors LLC

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, ending with 172,878 shares valued at about $174.4 million.
• Grainger reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with earnings per share of $11.65 versus estimates of $10.21 and revenue of $4.74 billion versus $4.58 billion expected. The company also raised its full-year 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 an average price target of $1,199.13.

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 172,878 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,092 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.36% of W.W. Grainger worth $174,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Accredited Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised 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 raised 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. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, State of Wyoming raised 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. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,265.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.60. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $906.52 and a 1 year high of $1,286.56. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,137.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,072.32.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.W.W. Grainger's revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.86 EPS. 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 45.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $2.49 dividend. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GWW. Stephens lifted their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective 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, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,199.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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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