Integrated Advisors Network LLC Makes New Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $648,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the fourth 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 period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position 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 during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 169.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,980,000 after purchasing an additional 2,407 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $43,051,000 after buying an additional 10,784 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,363.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $64.36 billion, a PE ratio of 36.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,390.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,287.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,164.73.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 26.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total transaction of $1,795,446.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total value of $385,518.97. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $491,444.31. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291 over the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GWW. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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 report on Friday, May 8th. Stephens raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,216.44.

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.