Willis Investment Counsel Buys 925 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Willis Investment Counsel increased its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 16,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 925 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $16,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Accredited Investors Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 314.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 650.0% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,147.90 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $1,114.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,030.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.44, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.09. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $902.44 and a 52 week high of $1,218.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.83.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.71 EPS. The business’s revenue 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, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total value of $1,658,048.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at $11,745,625.48. This represents a 12.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 report on Friday, February 6th. 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 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 research report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,096.71.

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.