39,031 Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Bought by SEB Asset Management AB

SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 39,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,575,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE GWW opened at $1,392.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $65.75 billion, a PE ratio of 37.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $906.52 and a 1-year high of $1,419.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,312.23 and a 200-day moving average of $1,178.69. 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 (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $2.49 dividend. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on GWW. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday. 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. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,230.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total transaction of $1,795,446.53. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. This represents a 39.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 2,624 shares of company stock valued at $3,232,291 over the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.