W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Purchased by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 83.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,319 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mattern Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 12,234 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $12,345,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,048,000. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 72.3% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 526.9% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,655 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Finally, Invariant Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $900,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total value of $385,518.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 399 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $491,444.31. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GWW. Barclays decreased their price target 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. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $1,250.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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 report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,337.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,355.00 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,419.91. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $1,333.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,202.17. The firm has a market cap of $63.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.44, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The business 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 earned $9.86 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.79%.

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.