BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Trims Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lowered its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 26.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,960 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $11,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Pinebridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $6,733,000. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $1,413,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $567,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,117,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 1,527 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective 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. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,212.88.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the 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 transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the 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 transaction of $385,518.97. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743 in the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,300.83 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,188.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,101.24. The company has a market cap of $61.41 billion, a PE ratio of 34.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,306.51. 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 earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm posted $9.86 earnings per share. 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 45.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $2.49 per share. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 26.79%.

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.