OLD Republic International Corp Sells 1,000 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

OLD Republic International Corp reduced its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 44,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. OLD Republic International Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $44,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mattern Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 12,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,345,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 15.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,169,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth $4,205,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 20.4% in the third quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 5,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 212.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,795,000 after acquiring an additional 36,855 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on GWW. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Barclays lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,199.13.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,247.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,286.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,148.54 and a 200 day moving average of $1,079.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.86 earnings per share. 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. On average, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

W.W. Grainger News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting W.W. Grainger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its full-year FY2026 EPS estimate for W.W. Grainger to $44.83 from $42.84, suggesting better near-term earnings momentum for the company.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also increased FY2027 EPS estimates to $49.39 from $48.13, reinforcing the view that earnings growth may continue into next year.
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly forecasts were lifted for Q2 2026, Q1 2027, Q2 2027, Q3 2027, and Q4 2027, indicating analysts see broad-based strength rather than a one-quarter bump.
• Neutral Sentiment: The latest estimates remain close to the current consensus for full-year earnings, so the move appears to be more of a confidence boost than a major surprise. W.W. Grainger stock page

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.