W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Stake Lowered by Dundas Partners LLP

Dundas Partners LLP trimmed its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 71.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 52,469 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger comprises 1.4% of Dundas Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Dundas Partners LLP’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $20,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the second quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,415,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,644,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.5% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 3,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,772,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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 note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised 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 W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,071.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 directly owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,112.28 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.69 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,093.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,018.14. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.46 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $9.71 earnings per share. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

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.