Stance Capital LLC Acquires 2,644 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Stance Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 197.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,644 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger makes up 1.5% of Stance Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Stance Capital LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mattern Capital Management LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 12,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,345,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,048,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 212.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,795,000 after acquiring an additional 36,855 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 160.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 68,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,756,000 after purchasing an additional 41,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,280,000 after purchasing an additional 2,908 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total transaction of $385,518.97. Following the sale, the vice president owned 399 shares in the company, valued at $491,444.31. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value of $1,795,446.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW opened at $1,364.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,234.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,128.54. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,365.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $64.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.71, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.39 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $2.49 per share. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on GWW. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. DA Davidson began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,217.00.

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.