Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $54.77 Million Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $54,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 1,567 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 112.9% in the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 1,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 75,434 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $76,117,000 after purchasing an additional 3,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 21,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,735,000 after purchasing an additional 4,540 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on GWW shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted 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 note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,212.88.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,234.01 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $58.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.19, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $906.52 and a 12 month high of $1,286.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,166.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,090.43.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $2.49 per share. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. 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 other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total value of $1,658,048.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. This trade represents a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.