Insider Selling: W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) CFO Sells $2,490,403.47 in Stock

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) CFO Deidra Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,064.73, for a total value of $2,490,403.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,897,511.55. This represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,057.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.10. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $893.99 and a 12 month high of $1,218.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,106.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,024.23.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. Research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 136.4% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 211.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,080.38.

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.