Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Has $513,000 Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 811.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 538 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 479 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased 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 worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,020,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.4% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,009,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer upped 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 note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,060.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total transaction of $11,829,368.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,035,434.45. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,130.45 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,059.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,000.72. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $893.99 and a 52-week high of $1,218.63. The company has a market capitalization of $53.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 25.54%.

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.