W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Sold by Unique Wealth LLC

Key Points

• Unique Wealth LLC cut its W.W. Grainger stake by 49.7% in the first quarter, leaving it with 841 shares worth about $917,000.
• Grainger reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $11.65 beating estimates and revenue of $4.74 billion, up 10.1% year over year. The company also raised its full-year guidance to 44.25–46.25 EPS.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $2.49 per share from $2.26, while insiders have been selling shares; analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average target price of $1,216.44.

Unique Wealth LLC decreased its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 49.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 841 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 831 shares during the period. Unique Wealth LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 211.1% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total value of $385,518.97. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 399 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total transaction of $1,658,048.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at $11,745,625.48. The trade was a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 4,112 shares of company stock valued at $4,890,339 over the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,371.64 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1,248.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,140.45. The company has a market cap of $64.76 billion, a PE ratio of 36.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $906.52 and a 1-year high of $1,390.96.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.86 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective 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 report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Stephens boosted 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,216.44.

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.