Schroder Investment Management Group Buys 7,170 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 90,749 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 7,170 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $86,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the second quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,415,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,644,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.5% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 6.0% during the third quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 3,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,772,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.3%

GWW stock opened at $1,115.71 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $893.99 and a one year high of $1,218.63. The stock has a market cap of $52.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,095.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,019.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.71 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,071.38.

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.