Legal & General Group Plc Sells 13,490 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 324,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,490 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $327,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattern Capital Management LLC grew 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 worth $12,345,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,169,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth $4,205,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 5,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 212.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,795,000 after acquiring an additional 36,855 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were 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 $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total transaction of $385,518.97. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted 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. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,199.13.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of GWW opened at $1,250.94 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,155.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,084.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.65, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $906.52 and a 1-year high of $1,286.56.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.35 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.49 per share. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.