Aberdeen Group plc Raises Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,163 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.10% of W.W. Grainger worth $43,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 196.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 24 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 136.4% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam raised its stake in shares of 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.2%

GWW opened at $1,130.45 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,062.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,001.36. The company has a market capitalization of $53.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $893.99 and a 52 week high of $1,218.63.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.46 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion for 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%.W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.71 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 25.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,035,434.45. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GWW. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.