W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Position Boosted by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 1,716.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,068 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 314.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on GWW. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased 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 report on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Stephens increased 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,216.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 transaction of $1,795,446.53. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,471.28. This represents a 39.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 2,624 shares of company stock valued at $3,232,291 over the last three months. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE GWW opened at $1,379.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.09, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $906.52 and a 12 month high of $1,390.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,292.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,166.23.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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. Equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.47 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $2.49 per share. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost 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 payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

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.