BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 3,829 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 75,434 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,829 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $76,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 211.1% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. State of Wyoming increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 650.0% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,212.88.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,242.55 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,170.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,092.51. The firm has a market cap of $58.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,286.56.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.79%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total value of $385,518.97. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $491,444.31. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743 in the last three months. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

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.