W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Stock Holdings Lowered by Andra AP fonden

Key Points

• Andra AP fonden reduced its stake in W.W. Grainger by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,200 shares and ending with 30,000 shares valued at about $30.3 million.
• Grainger reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $11.65 versus $10.21 expected and revenue of $4.74 billion, which topped estimates and rose 10.1% year over year.
• The company raised its dividend to $2.49 per share from $2.26, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $1,212.88.

Andra AP fonden lessened its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 8,200 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden owned 0.06% of W.W. Grainger worth $30,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,816,000 after buying an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 169.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,826 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,980,000 after buying an additional 2,407 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 35.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,388 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,051,000 after buying an additional 10,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,315.93 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,349.74. The firm has a market cap of $62.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,208.59 and a 200-day moving average of $1,113.40.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 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 analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.86 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue 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. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $2.49 per share. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is currently 26.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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 research report on Friday, May 8th. 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. 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, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,212.88.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the company's 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 2,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. This represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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.

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