R Squared Ltd Makes New Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 211.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total transaction of $385,518.97. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 399 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold a total of 2,624 shares of company stock valued at $3,232,291 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised 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 upped 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,216.44.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE GWW traded down $19.38 on Tuesday, hitting $1,350.78. 75,756 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 286,322. 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 50-day moving average price of $1,275.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,157.67. The company has a market cap of $63.77 billion, a PE ratio of 36.26, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.03. 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 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.86 EPS. The company’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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $2.49 per share. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend 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.