O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 27.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,752 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $12,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,064.73, for a total transaction of $2,490,403.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,897,511.55. This represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GWW. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,212.88.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of GWW opened at $1,329.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $62.74 billion, a PE ratio of 35.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1,198.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,108.06. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $906.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,330.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 26.79%.

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.