Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Has $667,000 Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 57.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 897 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 211.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GWW. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,212.88.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,314.92 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $62.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,216.65 and a 200-day moving average of $1,118.73. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $906.52 and a one year high of $1,349.74.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 earnings per share for the current 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total transaction of $1,658,048.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. The trade was a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

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.