W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Sold by Arizona State Retirement System

Key Points

• Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its stake in W.W. Grainger by 7.6% (sold 1,022 shares) to 12,468 shares, while Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services dramatically increased its holding by 212.3% to 54,215 shares; institutional investors now own 80.70% of the company.
• Wall Street's consensus rating is Hold with a $1,118.14 target after several firms raised price targets; Grainger set FY2026 EPS guidance of 42.25–44.75 and posted a slight EPS miss ($9.45 vs. $9.46) with revenue above estimates, and the CFO sold 1,488 shares under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan, reducing her ownership by 12.37%.

Arizona State Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,468 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,022 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $12,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 15.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,523 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,169,000 after buying an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $4,205,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 20.4% during the third quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 5,947 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 212.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,215 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,795,000 after purchasing an additional 36,855 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3.7% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 60,164 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $57,334,000 after purchasing an additional 2,120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GWW. Oppenheimer boosted their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,118.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total value of $1,658,048.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. This represents a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,149.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,116.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,047.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $54.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.09. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,218.63.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.46 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.71 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. Research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 43.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.54%.

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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