W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Sold by ABN Amro Investment Solutions

Key Points

• ABN Amro Investment Solutions cut its W.W. Grainger stake by 10% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,509 shares and ending with 49,656 shares valued at about $50.1 million.
• Grainger reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $11.65 topping estimates and revenue of $4.74 billion beating expectations; sales rose 10.1% from a year ago.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $2.49 per share from $2.26, while analysts remain cautious overall with an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $1,199.13.

ABN Amro Investment Solutions decreased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,656 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,509 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions owned approximately 0.10% of W.W. Grainger worth $50,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 34,269.9% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 435,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $439,407,000 after buying an additional 434,199 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $239,597,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,462,252,000 after buying an additional 104,607 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 899.0% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 94,737 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $95,594,000 after buying an additional 85,254 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 96.7% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 149,920 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $141,896,000 after buying an additional 73,714 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,064.73, for a total value of $2,490,403.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,897,511.55. This trade represents a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. This trade represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,243.76 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $58.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $906.52 and a 52 week high of $1,286.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,143.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,076.37.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.86 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly 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. Research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.43 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is 26.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stephens increased their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,199.13.

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.

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.