Bank of Montreal Can Sells 9,502 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,502 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.14% of W.W. Grainger worth $64,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,169,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,205,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 20.4% in the third quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 5,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,667,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.4% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 109,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $104,562,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 10.4% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 44,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,853,000 after buying an additional 4,228 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, 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 transaction of $199,666.35. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,249,953.82. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,082.62 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,218.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1,100.89 and its 200-day moving average is $1,020.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.59, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.46 by ($0.01). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The company had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.71 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,071.38.

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.