W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Stake Boosted by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel lifted its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,125 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $14,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at $721,202,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $536,916,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,627,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,853,714,000 after purchasing an additional 238,895 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 46.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 443,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $422,529,000 after purchasing an additional 140,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $63,913,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the sale, the vice president owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total transaction of $11,829,368.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,035,434.45. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155 over the last three months. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GWW. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,045.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,052.00.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,187.56 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,204.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,033.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $996.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $56.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.10.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.46 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.71 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 25.54%.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.