Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA Buys New Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,437,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattern Capital Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 12,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,345,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $1,048,000. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 72.3% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 526.9% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invariant Investment Management bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $900,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE GWW opened at $1,381.46 on Monday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $906.52 and a 12 month high of $1,419.91. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,323.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,192.23. 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 company has a market capitalization of $65.22 billion, a PE ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.03.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a 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 26.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the 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 transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total transaction of $385,518.97. Following the sale, the vice president owned 399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $491,444.31. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens lowered W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. 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. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger 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.