W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 40.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,738 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $18,013,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. State Street Corp grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,019,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,037,728,000 after acquiring an additional 23,399 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,230,214,000 after purchasing an additional 10,533 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,081,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,237 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 61.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,027,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,584,000 after purchasing an additional 389,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 659,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $628,151,000 after purchasing an additional 3,114 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value of $1,795,446.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. This trade represents a 39.50% 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. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. Stephens downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. 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, Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,397.36 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $906.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,419.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,329.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,197.58. The company has a market cap of $65.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.58, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.