W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Sold by Unique Wealth LLC

Unique Wealth LLC cut its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 49.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 841 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 831 shares during the quarter. Unique Wealth LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Sawyer & Company Inc boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total value of $1,658,048.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. This represents a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 4,112 shares of company stock worth $4,890,339 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,216.44.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 2.2%

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,371.64 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $906.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,390.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1,248.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,140.45. The company has a market capitalization of $64.76 billion, a PE ratio of 36.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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. Research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.39 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.