FSA Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

FSA Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $477,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at approximately $721,202,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at $536,916,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,627,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,853,714,000 after purchasing an additional 238,895 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 443,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $422,529,000 after purchasing an additional 140,869 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth about $63,913,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned 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 $1,071.38.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.0%

GWW opened at $1,152.05 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $893.99 and a 12 month high of $1,218.63. The company has a market cap of $54.57 billion, a PE ratio of 32.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,087.51 and a 200 day moving average of $1,015.08.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.46 by ($0.01). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The business had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.71 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.54%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,953.82. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total transaction of $14,128,119.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,929,232.22. The trade was a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.