Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC Invests $681,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,816,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 96.3% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 734 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 40,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 6,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,987,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,071.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,074.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $893.99 and a 52-week high of $1,218.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,102.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,021.10. The company has a market capitalization of $50.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.71 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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. Equities research analysts predict 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 disclosed 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 yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 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.