Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys 700 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,838 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $8,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,982,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,062,041,000 after buying an additional 8,735 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,260,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,306,289,000 after buying an additional 23,418 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at $721,202,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at $536,916,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total value of $14,128,119.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,929,232.22. This represents a 11.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,130.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,059.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,001.39. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $893.99 and a 12-month high of $1,218.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.71 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,060.13.

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.