Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 13,702 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 68.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,702 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,019,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,037,728,000 after acquiring an additional 23,399 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,230,214,000 after purchasing an additional 10,533 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,081,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,237 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 61.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,027,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,584,000 after purchasing an additional 389,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 659,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $628,151,000 after purchasing an additional 3,114 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Stephens cut W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,337.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,230.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value of $1,795,446.53. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.1%

GWW stock opened at $1,397.48 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $906.52 and a 52 week high of $1,419.91. The company has a market capitalization of $65.98 billion, a PE ratio of 37.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,326.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,194.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.79%.

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.