Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Acquires 2,908 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 15.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,908 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $21,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.3% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 313 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Burney Co. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 1,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,415,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,644,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.5% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,105.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,080.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,010.57. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $893.99 and a 52-week high of $1,218.63. The company has a market cap of $52.36 billion, a PE ratio of 31.23, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current 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 paid a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,060.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total value of $11,829,368.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,035,434.45. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 corporate insiders.

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.