Castleark Management LLC Buys New Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Castleark Management LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,119,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $795,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total value of $385,518.97. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold 2,624 shares of company stock valued at $3,232,291 over the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on GWW shares. Stephens cut 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Barclays dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,337.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.1%

GWW opened at $1,381.46 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $65.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.03. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $906.52 and a 12 month high of $1,419.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,323.39 and a 200 day moving average of $1,192.23.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $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 forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

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.