Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 70,003 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3,035.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 72,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 70,003 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.15% of W.W. Grainger worth $72,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,462,252,000 after acquiring an additional 104,607 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,996,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,902,159,000 after acquiring an additional 13,779 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $721,202,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 659,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $628,151,000 after purchasing an additional 3,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth approximately $536,916,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,064.31 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,106.14 and its 200 day moving average is $1,023.17. The stock has a market cap of $50.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $893.99 and a 1-year high of $1,218.63. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior 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 anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,080.38.

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.