W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) CFO Deidra Merriwether Sells 2,339 Shares of Stock

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) CFO Deidra Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of the firm’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 value of $2,490,403.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,897,511.55. This trade represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,075.04 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $893.99 and a 12 month high of $1,218.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $50.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,106.60 and a 200-day moving average of $1,023.53.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.71 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised 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. boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,080.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,081,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,237 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $721,202,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at about $536,916,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 434,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake 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 buying an additional 389,589 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.