Atom Investors LP Invests $5.56 Million in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Atom Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,505 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,555,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,462,252,000 after buying an additional 104,607 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,019,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,037,728,000 after purchasing an additional 23,399 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,230,214,000 after purchasing an additional 10,533 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 659,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $628,151,000 after purchasing an additional 3,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 614,658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $620,221,000 after purchasing an additional 2,106 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value 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 approximately $2,750,471.28. This represents a 39.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,322.21 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,349.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,220.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,121.38. The stock has a market cap of $62.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company 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 business earned $9.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,217.00.

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.