Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 409,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,743 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.86% of W.W. Grainger worth $446,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 314.3% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE GWW opened at $1,370.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $64.70 billion, a PE ratio of 36.86, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $906.52 and a 12 month high of $1,419.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,315.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,182.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,337.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 price objective for the company. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,230.11.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total transaction of $385,518.97. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 399 shares in the company, valued at $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291. 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.