Cetera Investment Advisers Boosts Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 16.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,485 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers owned approximately 0.05% of W.W. Grainger worth $26,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 17,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,558,000 after acquiring an additional 2,975 shares during the last quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 220.0% in the first quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,445,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 50,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 48,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,852,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at $191,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value of $1,795,446.53. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. This trade represents a 39.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 2,624 shares of company stock valued at $3,232,291 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on GWW shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,337.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Stephens downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE GWW opened at $1,381.46 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $906.52 and a 52 week high of $1,419.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.16, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,323.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,192.23.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $2.49 dividend. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.79%.

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.