Swiss National Bank Purchases 8,040 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,040 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of W.W. Grainger worth $144,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,081,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,237 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $518,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 34,269.9% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 435,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,407,000 after buying an additional 434,199 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 61.1% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 389,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth approximately $239,597,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GWW. Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Stephens downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,337.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,392.73 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,312.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,179.76. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $906.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,419.91. The company has a market capitalization of $65.75 billion, a PE ratio of 37.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.