Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Has $8.42 Million Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,838 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $8,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Haven Private LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 256.4% during the 3rd quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $819,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth $4,205,000. ING Groep NV increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 103.2% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 11,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,139,000 after purchasing an additional 5,937 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.8% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 96,382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,848,000 after purchasing an additional 2,596 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on GWW. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,060.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,130.45 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1,059.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,001.39. The stock has a market cap of $53.75 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.83. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $893.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,218.63.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.46 by ($0.02). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 25.54%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total value of $14,128,119.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 107,862 shares in the company, valued at $104,929,232.22. This trade represents a 11.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,953.82. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155 in the last ninety days. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger 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.