Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 466 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 466 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $16,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,019,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,037,728,000 after purchasing an additional 23,399 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,230,214,000 after purchasing an additional 10,533 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,081,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,237 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 61.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,027,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,584,000 after purchasing an additional 389,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 659,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $628,151,000 after purchasing an additional 3,114 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GWW. 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 report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 price target on the stock. Stephens downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE GWW opened at $1,381.46 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $65.22 billion, a PE ratio of 37.16, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.03. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $906.52 and a 1 year high of $1,419.91. The business’s 50-day moving average is $1,323.39 and its 200 day moving average is $1,191.00.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. The business 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $2.49 per share. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 26.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total transaction of $385,518.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

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.