Westerkirk Capital Inc. Raises Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Westerkirk Capital Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 73.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 741 shares during the quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,816,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 169.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,980,000 after buying an additional 2,407 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 35.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,051,000 after buying an additional 10,784 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. Morgan Stanley boosted 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 research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Stephens boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Three equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,212.88.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.3%

GWW stock opened at $1,304.09 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $1,193.46 and its 200 day moving average is $1,105.20. The stock has a market cap of $61.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $906.52 and a 1-year high of $1,309.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.79%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value of $1,795,446.53. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. This represents a 39.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743 in the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.