Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,638 shares during the quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $7,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GWW. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $721,202,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $239,597,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 443,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $422,529,000 after buying an additional 140,869 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,462,252,000 after buying an additional 104,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 899.0% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 94,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $95,594,000 after buying an additional 85,254 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. 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 shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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, March 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,118.14.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,161.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.83. The company has a market cap of $54.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.81, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1,118.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,052.14. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $906.52 and a 1 year high of $1,218.63.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.71 EPS. W.W. Grainger’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. Sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 43.61 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 25.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,064.73, for a total value of $2,490,403.47. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,897,511.55. This trade represents a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.