Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Cuts Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lessened its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 28.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,729 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 22,213 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $57,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $518,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 34,269.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 435,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,407,000 after buying an additional 434,199 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth $239,597,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,462,252,000 after purchasing an additional 104,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 899.0% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 94,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $95,594,000 after purchasing an additional 85,254 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on GWW shares. 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. Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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, 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,212.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $491,444.31. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.1%

GWW opened at $1,314.60 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,212.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,116.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.36, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $906.52 and a 12 month high of $1,349.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 26.79%.

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.