AlphaQuest LLC Has $160,000 Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

AlphaQuest LLC cut its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 92.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,974 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Quaker Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 196.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 24 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 136.4% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tobam increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3,900.0% in the second quarter. Tobam now owns 40 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total value of $11,829,368.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,035,434.45. This represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,202.12 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $893.99 and a one year high of $1,208.28. The company has a market capitalization of $57.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.97, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,053.04 and a 200 day moving average of $1,000.01.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.46 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.71 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 (DPR) is 25.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,060.13.

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.