W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) VP Laurie Thomson Sells 313 Shares

Key Points

• Insider sale: W.W. Grainger VP Laurie Thomson sold 313 shares at an average price of $1,231.69, totaling about $385,519. After the transaction, Thomson held 399 shares, a 43.96% reduction in the position.
• Strong quarterly results: Grainger reported Q1 earnings of $11.65 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 10.1% year over year to $4.74 billion. The company also raised FY 2026 EPS guidance to 44.250–46.250.
• Dividend and stock outlook: The company increased its quarterly dividend to $2.49 per share from $2.26, and analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with an average target price of $1,199.13.

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) VP Laurie Thomson sold 313 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 owned 399 shares in the company, valued at $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded up $28.89 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1,281.74. 131,059 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 270,431. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $906.52 and a 52 week high of $1,286.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $60.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,130.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,065.91.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger'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, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $2.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.79%.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,854 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,081,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,237 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $518,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 34,269.9% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 435,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $439,407,000 after acquiring an additional 434,199 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 61.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,027,286 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,036,584,000 after acquiring an additional 389,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $239,597,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GWW. Barclays increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Three 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 MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,199.13.

W.W. Grainger News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting W.W. Grainger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised several forward EPS estimates for W.W. Grainger, including Q2 2026, Q3 2026, Q4 2026, Q2 2027, Q3 2027, and FY2027, signaling improved earnings expectations for the industrial products company.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted that W.W. Grainger beat earnings estimates and raised full-year sales guidance, reinforcing the view that demand and profitability remain solid. 3 Industrial Stocks That Just Crushed Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Another report pointed to strong revenue growth and margin expansion in GWW’s latest quarter, suggesting the company is managing tariff headwinds better than expected. GWW Q1 Deep Dive: Strong Revenue Growth and Margin Expansion Amid Tariff Headwinds
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays issued a positive forecast for W.W. Grainger stock, adding to the bullish analyst backdrop. Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for W.W. Grainger NYSE: GWW Stock Price
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp’s Q4 2027 estimate was trimmed slightly, but the change was modest and does not appear to outweigh the broader upward revisions across other periods.

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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