Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Boosts Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 47.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,570 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $18,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 169.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,980,000 after acquiring an additional 2,407 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 35.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,051,000 after buying an additional 10,784 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,343.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,271.68 and its 200-day moving average is $1,154.35. The stock has a market cap of $63.45 billion, a PE ratio of 36.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.03. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,390.96.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.47 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $2.49 per share. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total transaction of $1,795,446.53. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GWW. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. 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. Weiss Ratings cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stephens raised 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 note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,216.44.

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.