W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) CFO Sells $1,658,048.64 in Stock

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) CFO Deidra Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total value of $1,658,048.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. This trade represents a 12.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock traded up $10.82 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1,118.40. The company had a trading volume of 203,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 275,264. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,108.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,026.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $893.99 and a one year high of $1,218.63. The company has a market capitalization of $52.93 billion, a PE ratio of 31.60, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.09.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,080.38.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lido Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 41.3% during the second quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 3,159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,287,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.9% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $829,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.