Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 1,132 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC decreased its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,132 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Tradition Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $232,000. Dearborn Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,733,000. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,413,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $567,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 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 stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total value of $385,518.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $491,444.31. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.3%

GWW stock opened at $1,304.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1,193.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,105.20. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $906.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,309.16.

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 the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 26.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens upped their price objective on 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,212.88.

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.