Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd Reduces Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lessened its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 17.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,905 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger accounts for about 1.6% of Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $9,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Brighton Jones LLC grew 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 valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 169.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,980,000 after buying an additional 2,407 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 10,784 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the business’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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743 in the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of GWW opened at $1,315.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,208.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,113.40. 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 one year low of $906.52 and a one year high of $1,349.74.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 26.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,212.88.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.