Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 7,297 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 48.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 7,297 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $30,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattern Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 12,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,345,000 after buying 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 worth about $1,048,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,353.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,502,000 after acquiring an additional 29,092 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 72.3% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,374,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 526.9% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,301.38 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $906.52 and a 12-month high of $1,419.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,343.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,216.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.30 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 48.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.97 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 45.500-47.250 EPS. Research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $2.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 25.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,350.00 to $1,375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,274.12.

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.