Candriam S.C.A. Sells 4,471 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Candriam S.C.A. cut its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,471 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $12,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Burney Co. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.6% in the second quarter. Burney Co. now owns 1,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,828,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,644,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,060.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction 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 approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was 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 directly owned 107,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,929,232.22. This represents a 11.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,187.21 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $56.45 billion, a PE ratio of 33.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,048.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $998.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $893.99 and a 1-year high of $1,204.36.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.71 EPS. The business’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 forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

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.