Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 14,447 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 844,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,447 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger comprises approximately 0.7% of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $851,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $518,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 34,269.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 435,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,407,000 after purchasing an additional 434,199 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $239,597,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,462,252,000 after purchasing an additional 104,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 899.0% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 94,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $95,594,000 after purchasing an additional 85,254 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective 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. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,212.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value of $1,795,446.53. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743 over the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,300.83 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,306.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,188.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,101.24.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

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.