Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Decreases Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank trimmed its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.6% in Q4, selling 1,177 shares and ending the quarter with 12,458 shares valued at about $12.57 million.
• CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 2,339 shares at an average price of $1,064.73 (reducing her holdings by 18.6%), and insiders now own about 6.3% of the company.
• W.W. Grainger reported Q results with EPS of $9.45 (vs. $9.46 estimate) and set FY2026 guidance of $42.25–$44.75; the stock trades near $1,165 with a market cap of ~$55.1B and a dividend yield of ~0.8%.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,458 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,177 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $12,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,523 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,169,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,205,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 5,947 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,667,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 212.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,215 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,795,000 after buying an additional 36,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 109,723 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $104,562,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,064.73, for a total transaction of $2,490,403.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,897,511.55. This represents a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,164.66 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $906.52 and a 1 year high of $1,218.63. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $1,115.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,045.34. The firm has a market cap of $55.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.09. 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 announced its 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). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.71 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is 25.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted 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. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research 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 research report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,118.14.

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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