Caprock Group LLC Purchases New Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 4,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,205,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 54.9% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,020,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,009,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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 report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped 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 note on Wednesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,060.13.

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 12,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total value of $11,829,368.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,035,434.45. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,202.12 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,053.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,000.01. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $893.99 and a 12 month high of $1,208.28. The company has a market capitalization of $57.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.10. 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 (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.46 by ($0.02). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The business had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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