Suncoast Equity Management Trims Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Suncoast Equity Management cut its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 29,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 599 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger accounts for approximately 3.0% of Suncoast Equity Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $29,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on GWW. Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Barclays increased 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 increased 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,212.88.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,234.01 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $58.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,166.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,090.43. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $906.52 and a 12-month high of $1,286.56. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 26.79%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. This represents a 12.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by 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.