Wells Fargo & Company MN Trims Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Wells Fargo & Company MN cut its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 953,959 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 24,519 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $962,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 211.1% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. State of Wyoming increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 650.0% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,314.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $62.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.36, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s fifty day moving average is $1,212.72 and its 200 day moving average is $1,114.81. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,349.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total value of $385,518.97. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $491,444.31. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the business’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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target 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. Barclays upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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, Stephens upped their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,212.88.

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.