Granite Investment Partners LLC Has $2.74 Million Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Granite Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 26.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,056 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 18.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction 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 represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total transaction of $14,128,119.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 107,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,929,232.22. The trade was a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155 in the last quarter. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,118.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $53.19 billion, a PE ratio of 31.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,074.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,007.89. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $893.99 and a 1-year high of $1,218.63.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released 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). The business had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.71 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 25.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.