Bank of Nova Scotia Has $6.79 Million Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 68.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,702 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.1%

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,397.48 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,326.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,194.83. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $906.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,419.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.59, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

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

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total value of $385,518.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $491,444.31. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,624 shares of company stock valued at $3,232,291 over the last 90 days. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,337.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger 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.