W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) CFO Deidra Merriwether Sells 1,488 Shares

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) CFO Deidra Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total transaction of $1,658,048.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at $11,745,625.48. This represents a 12.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock traded up $10.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $1,118.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 203,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 275,264. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $893.99 and a 1-year high of $1,218.63. The company has a market cap of $52.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.60, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1,108.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,026.12.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.43 billion for 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 revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.71 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 25.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stance Capital LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 197.6% during the 4th quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 3,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,018,000 after purchasing an additional 2,644 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 79.2% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,764 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,799,000 after purchasing an additional 1,664 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,392 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $605,000. Finally, Bayban bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $92,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 report on Friday, February 6th. Two research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,080.38.

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.