Orange Investment Advisors Inc. Has $5.58 Million Stock Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Orange Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 15.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 906 shares during the period. Orange Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 211.1% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 314.3% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,353.16 on Monday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $906.52 and a 1 year high of $1,390.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.04. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,252.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,143.22.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $2.49 per share. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,216.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total transaction of $1,658,048.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. The trade was a 12.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,112 shares of company stock worth $4,890,339. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

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.