Empowered Funds LLC Increases Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 40.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,738 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $18,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GWW. DA Davidson started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. 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 boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,230.11.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,397.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,329.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,197.58. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $906.52 and a 12 month high of $1,419.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.97 billion, a PE ratio of 37.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.03.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 earnings per share for the current year.

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.