Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Trims Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 466 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $16,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Mattern Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 12,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,345,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $1,048,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 72.3% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 526.9% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Finally, Invariant Investment Management bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $900,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on GWW. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,337.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE GWW opened at $1,381.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $906.52 and a 52 week high of $1,419.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.16, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,323.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,191.00.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.86 earnings per share. The company’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. On average, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $2.49 per share. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 26.79%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total transaction of $385,518.97. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $491,444.31. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291 over the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.