Vestcor Inc Sells 1,004 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Vestcor Inc lowered its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 21.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,004 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,733,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 3,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,772,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. This trade represents a 39.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,064.73, for a total transaction of $2,490,403.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,897,511.55. This represents a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743 in the last 90 days. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,300.83 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $906.52 and a 52 week high of $1,306.51. The firm has a market cap of $61.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,188.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,101.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 26.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,212.88.

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.