Liberty One Investment Management LLC Acquires New Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Liberty One Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,420,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,816,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 169.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,980,000 after acquiring an additional 2,407 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 35.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,051,000 after purchasing an additional 10,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,364.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,321.19 and a 200-day moving average of $1,189.65. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,419.91. The stock has a market cap of $64.43 billion, a PE ratio of 36.71, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.03.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $2.49 dividend. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.79%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total transaction of $385,518.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total transaction of $1,795,446.53. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291 in the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. DA Davidson began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,337.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Stephens downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,230.11.

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.