W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Stock Holdings Lifted by DNB Asset Management AS

DNB Asset Management AS increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the quarter. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $12,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Accredited Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Tobam raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 3,900.0% during the second quarter. Tobam now owns 40 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 650.0% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $3,249,953.82. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total value of $14,128,119.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,862 shares in the company, valued at $104,929,232.22. The trade was a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on GWW. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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 report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Three 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 data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,060.13.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 3.4%

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,143.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1,082.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,012.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.83. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.The business had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue 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. On average, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.54%.

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.