California State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,748 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.15% of W.W. Grainger worth $77,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,081,554,000 after buying an additional 1,003,237 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $518,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 34,269.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 435,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,407,000 after buying an additional 434,199 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 61.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,027,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,584,000 after acquiring an additional 389,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $239,597,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,355.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.44, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.03. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $906.52 and a one year high of $1,419.91. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,333.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,202.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.79%.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total transaction of $1,795,446.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. This represents a 39.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on GWW. Wall Street Zen upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted 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 report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays dropped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. DA Davidson began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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 assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,230.11.

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.