PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators Takes $1.41 Million Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,413,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mattern Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 12,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,345,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,205,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 20.4% during the third quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 5,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,667,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 212.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,795,000 after buying an additional 36,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 109,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $104,562,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,300.83 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,306.51. The stock has a market cap of $61.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,188.64 and its 200 day moving average is $1,101.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $2.49 per share. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 26.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,212.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total transaction of $385,518.97. Following the sale, the vice president owned 399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743 over the last quarter. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

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.