Candriam S.C.A. Acquires 515 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 8.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 515 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $7,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the company’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 value of $1,795,446.53. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. This represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays cut 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 note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,216.44.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,379.19 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1,292.40 and its 200 day moving average is $1,167.16. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $906.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,390.96.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.47 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 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.