W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Vest Financial trimmed its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.2% in Q4, selling 1,149 shares and retaining 50,963 shares (about 0.11%) worth roughly $51.4 million.
• CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares on April 2 at an average price of $1,114.28 under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing her holding by 12.37% and generating about $1.66 million.
• Grainger reported Q EPS of $9.45 (missing by $0.01) and revenue of $4.43 billion, set FY2026 guidance of $42.25–$44.75 EPS, and has an analyst consensus near 43.61 with an average rating of "Hold" and an average target of about $1,118.14.

Vest Financial LLC trimmed its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,963 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,149 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.11% of W.W. Grainger worth $51,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accredited Investors Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 211.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 314.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 650.0% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on GWW. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,118.14.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,158.22 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $1,116.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,049.19. The company has a market capitalization of $54.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.09. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $906.52 and a 1 year high of $1,218.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.83.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. W.W. Grainger's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.71 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 43.61 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a 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%.

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.

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.