W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 97,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,814 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $92,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,816,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.1% in the 2nd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 196.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 24 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 72.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GWW. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,060.13.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,143.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,082.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,011.98. The stock has a market cap of $54.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.10. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $893.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,218.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). 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 the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.71 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. Equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

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.