Parnassus Investments LLC decreased its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW – Free Report) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 640,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 116,640 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger accounts for 1.7% of Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $645,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GWW. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $682,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Stephens upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,212.88.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the 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 directly owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. This represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total value of $1,658,048.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. This trade represents a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
W.W. Grainger Stock Performance
Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,315.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $62.13 billion, a PE ratio of 35.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $906.52 and a 52 week high of $1,349.74. The business 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 quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.
W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.79%.
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.
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