Sustainable Growth Advisers LP Cuts Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Sustainable Growth Advisers LP cut its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 229,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 21,729 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger makes up approximately 1.6% of Sustainable Growth Advisers LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $231,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GWW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 18.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 169.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,980,000 after acquiring an additional 2,407 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 35.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,051,000 after acquiring an additional 10,784 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GWW. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,212.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total value of $385,518.97. Following the sale, the vice president owned 399 shares in the company, valued at $491,444.31. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743 over the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,242.55 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $906.52 and a 12-month high of $1,286.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,170.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,092.51.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.79%.

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.