W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Sold by Orange Investment Advisors Inc.

Orange Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 790 shares during the period. Orange Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $6,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at about $294,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 303.4% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,083,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 218.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,589,000 after buying an additional 1,080 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,255,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 3,707 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,741,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted 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 research note on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,199.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,239.64 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,145.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,078.21. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,286.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69. The company has a market capitalization of $58.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.34, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $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. As a group, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.43 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $2.49 per share. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.79%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, 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 value of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the business’s 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 directly owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,471.28. This trade represents a 39.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743. Company insiders own 6.30% 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.