W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 663 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $15,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Interchange Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. Keybank National Association OH raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 8,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,931,000 after buying an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $78,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,541,000 after buying an additional 964 shares during the period. Finally, Quadcap Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of 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. 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,118.14.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,149.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $54.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.49, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,218.63. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,118.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,052.14.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) 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). The firm 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.71 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. Research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 43.61 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.14%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total value of $1,658,048.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,745,625.48. The trade was a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.