Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 9,743 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 409,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,743 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $446,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,019,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,037,728,000 after buying an additional 23,399 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,230,214,000 after buying an additional 10,533 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,003,237 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 61.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 389,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 659,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $628,151,000 after acquiring an additional 3,114 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. Barclays reduced their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. DA Davidson initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,230.11.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were 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 $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 2,624 shares of company stock valued at $3,232,291 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,370.43 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $64.70 billion, a PE ratio of 36.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,419.91. 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’s 50 day moving average is $1,315.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,182.21.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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. Investors 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 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.