Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Cuts Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA decreased its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 74.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,620 shares during the quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 18.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,816,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 169.6% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,980,000 after purchasing an additional 2,407 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 35.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,051,000 after purchasing an additional 10,784 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Stephens increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,216.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 399 shares in the company, valued at $491,444.31. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,112 shares of company stock worth $4,890,339. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.0%

GWW stock opened at $1,353.16 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,252.58 and a 200-day moving average of $1,143.22. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $906.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,390.96. The company has a market capitalization of $63.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.39, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.04. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.39 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase 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 presently 26.79%.

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.