Allstate Corp Has $3.35 Million Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Allstate Corp lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 102.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,681 shares during the period. Allstate Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 211.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 650.0% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,246.52 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $906.52 and a 1 year high of $1,286.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,159.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,086.37. 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 company has a market cap of $58.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.49 per share. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective 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. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,212.88.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total transaction of $1,658,048.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,745,625.48. This trade represents a 12.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value of $1,795,446.53. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. This trade represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

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.