W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) SVP Jonny Leroy Sells 854 Shares

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) SVP Jonny Leroy sold 854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,282.80 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $906.52 and a one year high of $1,286.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.50, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,133.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,068.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.86 EPS. The firm’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. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,083,000. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 730 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,420,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 55,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,190,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MWA Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,104,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,199.13.

W.W. Grainger News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting W.W. Grainger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised several earnings estimates for W.W. Grainger, including Q2 2026, Q3 2026, Q4 2026, Q2 2027, Q3 2027, and FY2027, reflecting improved expectations for future profitability.
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s recent quarterly results beat Wall Street forecasts, and management increased full-year sales guidance, reinforcing the view that business demand remains solid.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also digesting post-earnings commentary, with analysts focusing on the company’s margin trends, demand outlook, and guidance sustainability. WW Grainger’s Q1 earnings call: Our top 5 analyst questions
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales by several executives, including VP Paige K. Robbins, SVP Jonny M. Leroy, and VP Laurie R. Thomson, may create some caution for investors even though the transactions were disclosed and could reflect routine portfolio activity.

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.