Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,400,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 211.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,353.24 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,390.96. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,256.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,145.99. The stock has a market cap of $63.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.40, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.39 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $2.49 per share. 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. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Stephens lifted their price target on 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. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,216.44.

Insider Activity

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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 4,112 shares of company stock worth $4,890,339 in the last 90 days. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.