W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Sold by SRB Corp

SRB Corp lessened its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,338 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger accounts for about 4.5% of SRB Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. SRB Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $72,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Compound Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 730 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at $5,420,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 55,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,190,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. MWA Asset Management raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 5.9% during the first quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,104,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 14.6% during the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 3,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,907,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GWW. Barclays lowered their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,337.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Stephens lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,381.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.16, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,419.91. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,323.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,191.00.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $2.49 per share. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. This represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,624 shares of company stock valued at $3,232,291. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.