Granite Investment Partners LLC Has $4.29 Million Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Granite Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 11.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,934 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 415 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter valued at about $192,000. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 30.4% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 352 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 56.5% during the first quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 169 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 154.3% in the first quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at approximately $842,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on GWW. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target 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 dropped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,216.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. This represents a 39.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.0%

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,363.25 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $906.52 and a 1-year high of $1,390.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,287.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,164.73. The company has a market cap of $64.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.03.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $2.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.