Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Purchases 68,221 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 439,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 68,221 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.93% of W.W. Grainger worth $443,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,462,252,000 after purchasing an additional 104,607 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,996,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,902,159,000 after purchasing an additional 13,779 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 659,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $628,151,000 after purchasing an additional 3,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $518,958,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,290.79 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $1,184.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,099.83. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $906.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,300.00. The company has a market cap of $60.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.72, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.04.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,212.88.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total value of $385,518.97. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 399 shares in the company, valued at $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger 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.