R Squared Ltd Takes Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 37.4% during the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 1,435.3% in the 1st quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 13,910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,173,000 after buying an additional 13,004 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth about $648,000. PUREfi Wealth LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 11.9% during the first quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC now owns 358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 129.5% in the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays lowered their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,216.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total transaction of $385,518.97. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $491,444.31. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock traded down $19.38 on Tuesday, reaching $1,350.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 75,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 286,322. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,390.96. The company has a market cap of $63.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.26, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1,275.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,157.67.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $2.49 dividend. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.79%.

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.