Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 31,227 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Nordea Investment Management AB lessened its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 85.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 31,227 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Magnus Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $669,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Canal Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 4,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,102,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,064.73, for a total value of $2,490,403.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,897,511.55. This represents a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer raised their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 research report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,080.38.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE GWW opened at $1,063.48 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $893.99 and a 12 month high of $1,218.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,106.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,023.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $50.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share (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%.W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.71 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. Research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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 was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. 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.