Swiss National Bank Acquires 8,040 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 8,040 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $144,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,019,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,037,728,000 after acquiring an additional 23,399 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,230,214,000 after purchasing an additional 10,533 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,081,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,237 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 61.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,027,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,584,000 after purchasing an additional 389,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 659,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $628,151,000 after purchasing an additional 3,114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,337.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price 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 note on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.2%

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,392.73 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69. The stock has a market cap of $65.75 billion, a PE ratio of 37.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,312.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,179.76. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $906.52 and a one year high of $1,419.91.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $2.49 dividend. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total transaction of $1,795,446.53. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,624 shares of company stock valued at $3,232,291. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

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.