W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Sold by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board cut its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 90.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 112,573 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $11,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 196.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 24 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 136.4% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 3,900.0% during the second quarter. Tobam now owns 40 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of GWW opened at $1,130.45 on Monday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $893.99 and a 12 month high of $1,218.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,059.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,000.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market cap of $53.75 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.46 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.71 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total transaction of $14,128,119.63. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 107,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,929,232.22. The trade was a 11.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,953.82. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GWW. 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 report on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,060.13.

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.