Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 9,432 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 21.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 35,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,432 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $35,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accredited Investors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 211.1% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 650.0% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 25.5% during the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,064.73, for a total value of $2,490,403.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,897,511.55. This trade represents a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective 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 report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,118.14.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.2%

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,145.89 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $54.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $906.52 and a 1-year high of $1,218.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,117.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,051.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.46 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.71 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 43.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 25.54%.

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.