Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Increases Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 32.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $7,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,816,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 169.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,980,000 after buying an additional 2,407 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 35.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,051,000 after buying an additional 10,784 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. This represents a 39.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on GWW. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Stephens lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,364.70 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $906.52 and a 12-month high of $1,419.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,321.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,189.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.71, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.03.

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

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $2.49 dividend. This is a positive change 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 payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

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.