Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 55,040 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 74.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 55,040 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $20,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on GWW. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,337.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,360.12 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $64.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.03. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $906.52 and a 12-month high of $1,419.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,331.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,199.88.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $2.49 per share. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total transaction of $1,795,446.53. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. This represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.