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GWWW. W. Grainger · Insider ownership research

W. W. Grainger insiders sold $33.5M in the past 12 months. How much of their stake is that?

About 0.7% overall. As a group they ended with more shares than they started with. The biggest individual seller, Donald Macpherson, sold shares equal to 26% of starting holdings, but more shares were added, so the stake grew.

Updated Oct 9, 2026 from SEC filings · covers Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 9, 2026
How this comparesMore of their stake sold than at 103 of the 490 other companies we can measure (#388 of 491)See ranking
0
buyers among officers and directors, past 12 months
90%
of sales were under disclosed trading plans, past 12 months
6 of 18
officers and directors sold shares, past 12 months
Recent activity · past 30 days, Sep 10, 2026 to Oct 9, 2026

No officer or director trades were reported for the past 30 days. The most recent before that:

May 12, 20263 executives sold 2.6K shares ($3.2M) with no plan disclosed. That is between 7.4% and 44% of each person's total stake held that day.
WhoSharesPrice% of total stakeTotal stake afterTrade dateFiled
Paige Robbins
Sr. VP
1,457$1232.297.4%18KMay 12, 2026May 14, 2026
Jonny LeRoy
SVP, Chief Technology Officer
854$1231.0635%1.6KMay 12, 2026May 14, 2026
Laurie Thomson
Interim CFO and VP, Controller
313$1231.6944%399May 12, 2026May 14, 2026

"% of total stake" is the shares in this event against all the vested shares the person held that day, across every share class and holding entity, after that day's vesting. "n/a" means the person's holdings don't reconcile, or the row is a purchase. "Holdings record incomplete" means more shares were sold than the filings show the person held that day, so a percentage would be wrong.

Is this normal? In line with the past 5 years. 6 insiders sold; the average is 5 a year. Year by year
Latest filing: Filed Oct 2 for a stock award on Oct 1. Laurie Thomson received an award of 590 shares. Filing
74 SEC ownership filings in the period · See the evidence

What stands out

Three officers sold more than 25% of vested holdings: Donald Macpherson (26% of holdings, $26.0M, all under a disclosed plan), Deidra Merriwether (37% of holdings, $4.1M, all under a disclosed plan) and Jonny LeRoy (48% of holdings, $1.1M, none under a disclosed plan).Donald Macpherson: largest sale, Dec 5, 2025 · Deidra Merriwether: largest sale, Mar 24, 2026 · Jonny LeRoy: largest sale, May 12, 2026
Laurie Thomson sold 313 shares (54% of starting holdings), but 858 more vested, so the stake grew (from 578 to 989).Largest sale, May 12, 2026
Paige Robbins (8.0% of holdings) sold $1.8M of stock with no disclosed trading plan. The filings don't state a reason.Largest such sale, May 12, 2026

Percentages cover 12 of 18 officers and directors. 6 are left out

i
Left out: Krantz Berardinelli (holdings couldn't be fully reconciled); Beatriz Perez, Steven White, Katherine Jaspon, George Davis and Cindy Miller (held no vested shares at the start).
Disclosed company stock is not an insider's whole wealth.

Who sold, and how much of their stake

Officers and directors, past 12 months. Each bar is 100% of that person's own stake; not comparable between people. The stake is the vested shares held at the start of the period (Oct 9, 2025); the gold part is what they sold.

SoldRest of starting stakeAdded during the period
Donald Macpherson
Chairman and CEO, Director
Sold 26%, but 31K shares were added (mostly vesting), so the stake grew
26% · $26.0MDisclosed plan
Deidra Merriwether
Sr. VP & CFO
Sold 37%, but 2.3K shares were added (mostly vesting), so the stake grew
37% · $4.1MDisclosed plan
Paige Robbins
Sr. VP
8.0% · $1.8MNo plan disclosed
Jonny LeRoy
SVP, Chief Technology Officer
48% · $1.1MNo plan disclosed
Laurie Thomson
Interim CFO and VP, Controller
54% · $386KNo plan disclosed
All 6 sellers

Selling by month

Officers and directors, Oct 2025 to Oct 2026. Each sale is counted once: under a disclosed plan, else to cover taxes, else no plan disclosed.

Disclosed planNo plan disclosedOne dollar scale for every month; the tallest bar is labeled
OctNovDec 2025: $26.0M under a disclosed planDec 2025: $200K no plan disclosed$26.2MDecJanFebMar 2026: $2.5M under a disclosed planMarApr 2026: $1.7M under a disclosed planAprMay 2026: $3.2M no plan disclosedMayJunJulAugSepOct

Common questions

Is the W. W. Grainger CEO selling stock?

Yes. Donald Macpherson sold 27K shares ($26.0M, 26% of starting holdings) in the past 12 months, all of it under a trading plan disclosed in the filings.

Why are W. W. Grainger insiders selling?

Filings rarely give a reason, and we don't guess at one. What they show is how the sales were made: 90% of sales by value ran under 10b5-1 trading plans disclosed in the filings and 10% had no disclosed plan. A trading plan schedules sales in advance.

Are any W. W. Grainger insiders buying?

No. Officers and directors reported no purchases in the past 12 months.

How much of their stake did W. W. Grainger insiders sell?

About 0.7% overall. As a group they ended with more shares than they started with. The biggest individual seller, Donald Macpherson, sold shares equal to 26% of starting holdings, but more shares were added, so the stake grew. That covers the 12 months to Oct 9, 2026 and counts vested shares reported on SEC Forms 3, 4 and 5, which is not an insider's whole wealth.

The evidence

Who sold6 officers and directors: amount, % of holdings, trading plan
Who soldAmount% of holdingsTrading plan
Donald Macpherson
Chairman and CEO, Director
$26.0M
27K shares
26%Disclosed plan
Deidra Merriwether
Sr. VP & CFO
$4.1M
3.8K shares
37%Disclosed plan
Paige Robbins
Sr. VP
$1.8M
1.5K shares
8.0%No plan disclosed
Jonny LeRoy
SVP, Chief Technology Officer
$1.1M
854 shares
48%No plan disclosed
Laurie Thomson
Interim CFO and VP, Controller
$386K
313 shares
54%No plan disclosed
Krantz Berardinelli
Sr. VP & CLO
$200K
195 shares
i
No percentage: holdings couldn't be fully reconciled.
No plan disclosed
The full ownership picture17 of 18 insiders fully reconciled · 13 officers and directors

Vested shares across all share classes, held directly and through trusts, LLCs and family members, as reported on SEC Forms 3, 4 and 5. Unvested awards and options are never counted as owned shares.

InsiderHeld Oct 9, 2025SoldHeld Oct 9, 2026Still held
Susan Williams
i
Additional holdings last reported more than 3 years ago are shown separately and excluded from totals.
Director
4.43M04.43Mno sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Susan Williams
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
2.2K → 2.5Kunvested awards, start → end
  • Additional holdings last reported more than 3 years ago are shown separately and excluded from totals.
Held throughShare classOct 9, 2025Oct 9, 2026
DirectCommon Stock8,3428,342
a limited liability companyCommon Stock1,678,5851,678,585
CorporationCommon Stock1,635,7601,635,760
In TrustCommon Stock1,107,1151,107,115

Additional holdings last reported Mar 1, 2023, not confirmed since: 3,786,700 shares. Not included in any total or percentage on this page.

Donald Macpherson
Chairman and CEO, Director
104K−27K109K+4.7%
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Donald Macpherson
+31Kshares vested or exercised
−4Kgifted (net of own trusts)
−3.9Kwithheld by the company for taxes
none reportedunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 9, 2025Oct 9, 2026
DirectCommon Stock103,885108,740
Paige Robbins
Sr. VP
18K−1.5K18K99.6%
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Paige Robbins
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
−1.1Kwithheld by the company for taxes
none reportedunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 9, 2025Oct 9, 2026
DirectCommon Stock2,3152,232
Family TrustCommon Stock16,00416,004
Deidra Merriwether
Sr. VP & CFO
10K−3.8K11K+3%
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Deidra Merriwether
+2.3Kshares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
−1.2Kwithheld by the company for taxes
none reportedunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 9, 2025Oct 9, 2026
DirectCommon Stock10,23510,541
Neil Novich
Director
4.6K04.6Kno sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Neil Novich
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
33K → 34Kunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 9, 2025Oct 9, 2026
DirectCommon Stock4,6054,605
Krantz Berardinelli
!
Holdings couldn't be fully reconciled. Balance changed without a matching transaction, and the footnote does not state the amount: -188 shares on Feb 1, 2026 (Direct). See the filing Sales and other transactions for Krantz Berardinelli are complete.
Sr. VP & CLO
n/a−195n/an/a
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Krantz Berardinelli
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
−961withheld by the company for taxes
none reportedunvested awards, start → end

Holdings couldn't be fully reconciled. Balance changed without a matching transaction, and the footnote does not state the amount: -188 shares on Feb 1, 2026 (Direct). The balances below are as reported, not verified totals.

Held throughShare classOct 9, 2025Oct 9, 2026
DirectCommon Stock3,3693,791
Melanie Tinto
SVP & Chief HR Officer
2.9K03.1Kno sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Melanie Tinto
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
−522withheld by the company for taxes
none reportedunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 9, 2025Oct 9, 2026
DirectCommon Stock2,8813,123
Jonny LeRoy
i
Includes unvested RSUs, amount not disclosed.
SVP, Chief Technology Officer
1.8K−8541.6K88%
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Jonny LeRoy
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
−359withheld by the company for taxes
1.5K → 1.5Kunvested awards, start → end
  • Includes unvested RSUs, amount not disclosed.
Held throughShare classOct 9, 2025Oct 9, 2026
Direct
includes unvested RSUs, amount not disclosed
Common Stock1,7711,554
Laurie Thomson
Interim CFO and VP, Controller
578−313989+71%
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Laurie Thomson
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
−134withheld by the company for taxes
none reportedunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 9, 2025Oct 9, 2026
DirectCommon Stock578989
Rodney Adkins
Director
4000400no sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Rodney Adkins
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
5.9K → 6.2Kunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 9, 2025Oct 9, 2026
DirectCommon Stock400400
Ernest Santi
Director
3030303no sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Ernest Santi
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
10K → 11Kunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 9, 2025Oct 9, 2026
DirectCommon Stock303303
Lucas Watson
Director
1570157no sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Lucas Watson
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
5.7K → 6Kunvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 9, 2025Oct 9, 2026
Held in the Watson TrustCommon Stock157157
Christopher Klein
Director
65065no sales
Vesting, gifts, unvested awards and holding lines for Christopher Klein
0shares vested or exercised
0gifted (net of own trusts)
438 → 618unvested awards, start → end
Held throughShare classOct 9, 2025Oct 9, 2026
DirectCommon Stock6565

17 of 18 insiders fully reconciled: starting holdings plus reported transactions match ending holdings (17 exactly, 0 with a minor or footnoted difference). For 1 we show sales but not holdings; the ! icon on that row explains why. Percentages cover 12 of 18 officers and directors. Left out: Krantz Berardinelli (holdings couldn't be fully reconciled); Beatriz Perez, Steven White, Katherine Jaspon, George Davis and Cindy Miller (held no vested shares at the start). "Still held" compares ending with starting vested shares; a plus sign means the holding grew.

What explains the selling$33.5M of sales by plan status, purpose, seller and month

Officer and director open-market sales: $33.5M across 33,332 shares. Plan status and stated purpose are separate questions, and a sale can have both.

By plan status

The lighter segment is sales with no plan disclosed in the filing ($3.4M), including tax-related sales outside a plan.

No plan disclosed · $3.4M

Sales with no 10b5-1 plan and no tax reference in the filing. $1.8M of it is Paige Robbins. No plan disclosed is a statement about the filing, not about why the sale happened. Largest such sale: Paige Robbins, May 12, 2026

Taxes

8,113 shares ($8.9M) were withheld by the company for taxes, which isn't a market sale.

SellerShares soldProceedsUnder a disclosed planShare of totalSales dates
Donald Macpherson
Chairman and CEO, Director
27K$26.0M100%77%Dec 4, 2025 to Dec 5, 2025
Deidra Merriwether
Sr. VP & CFO
3.8K$4.1M100%12%Mar 24, 2026 to Apr 2, 2026
Paige Robbins
Sr. VP
1.5K$1.8M0%5%May 12, 2026 to May 12, 2026
Jonny LeRoy
SVP, Chief Technology Officer
854$1.1M0%3%May 12, 2026 to May 12, 2026
Laurie Thomson
Interim CFO and VP, Controller
313$386K0%1%May 12, 2026 to May 12, 2026
Krantz Berardinelli
Sr. VP & CLO
195$200K0%0.6%Dec 16, 2025 to Dec 16, 2025

Sales by month

MonthSale proceedsDisclosed planTo cover taxesNo plan disclosed
Oct 2025$0$0$0$0
Nov 2025$0$0$0$0
Dec 2025$26.2M$26.0M$0$200K
Jan 2026$0$0$0$0
Feb 2026$0$0$0$0
Mar 2026$2.5M$2.5M$0$0
Apr 2026$1.7M$1.7M$0$0
May 2026$3.2M$0$0$3.2M
Jun 2026$0$0$0$0
Jul 2026$0$0$0$0
Aug 2026$0$0$0$0
Sep 2026$0$0$0$0
Oct 2026$0$0$0$0
Is this normal? Selling year by year5 earlier years to compare with

In line with the past 5 years. 6 insiders sold; the average is 5 a year.

12 months endingShares soldInsiders who soldProceeds
Oct 9, 2026
Latest 12 months
33K6$33.5M
Oct 9, 2025
1 year earlier
14K5$15.0M
Oct 9, 2024
2 years earlier
66K5$63.3M
Oct 10, 2023
3 years earlier
72K5$48.8M
Oct 10, 2022
4 years earlier
46K5$22.5M
Oct 10, 2021
5 years earlier
28K3$11.3M

Open-market sales (Form 4 code S) by people who were officers or directors, in split-adjusted shares. Earlier years include people who have since left. A sale that an outside holder also reports (a family trust, a fund) is counted with outside holders in every year. Shares, not dollars, are compared, so a change in the stock price doesn't look like a change in selling. Years the filings don't fully cover are shown but left out of the average.

Known gaps and uncertainty1 insider whose holdings couldn't be fully reconciled

Krantz Berardinelli: holdings couldn't be fully reconciled (difference of -188 shares). Balance changed without a matching transaction, and the footnote does not state the amount: -188 shares on Feb 1, 2026 (Direct). Filing, Feb 1, 2026

Footnote: "Shares withheld for tax withholding upon the February 1, 2026 vesting and partial settlement of the February Award, as described in footnote 1 above."

Inferred rename: "On January 31, 2015, Mr. Slavik sold to certain family trusts equity interests constituting approximately 0.38% of Emerald Bay Ventures II, LLC" is treated as the same holder as "Emerald Bay", because the old name was never reported again and the new one opened with the same balance (255,686 shares). Old name, new name

External context: we only cite outside events when a documented connection exists. None is shown for this period.

Sources and methodology2,176 filings from SEC EDGAR, and how we read them

All 2,176 Forms 3, 4 and 5 filed for W. W. Grainger (SEC CIK 277135) from Nov 18, 2002 to Oct 2, 2026, retrieved from SEC EDGAR on Oct 9, 2026. Prices are the ones reported in each filing, often weighted averages. 62 older filings exist only on paper and could not be read.

Holdings. Each holding line (a share class plus an owner, such as a trust or LLC) carries its last reported balance forward. Entities first reported during the period start at zero, so transfers between an insider's own trusts don't count as selling. Lines not reported for three years or more are listed separately and left out of totals.

Sales. A sale counts as under a 10b5-1 plan if its footnote cites one or the filing's Rule 10b5-1 box is checked, and as tax-related if its footnote cites tax obligations or sell-to-cover. Shares withheld by the company for taxes are listed separately. Sales with neither attribute are labeled "no plan disclosed".

Full methodology

Former or inactive filers (40)No filing in 18 months; last reported balances, not in any total
NameLast filedLast reported balance
Stuart LevenickMar 4, 2025No balance on record
Matt FortinJun 24, 20241,848 shares, last reported balance as of Jun 20, 2024
Ann HaileyMar 5, 2024200 shares, last reported balance as of Mar 1, 2024
Kathleen CarrollApr 4, 20234,268 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 1, 2023
Michael RobertsMar 2, 20231,000 shares, last reported balance as of Mar 1, 2023
John HowardApr 4, 202239,567 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 1, 2022
Brian AndersonMar 2, 20223,340 shares, last reported balance as of Mar 1, 2022
Eric TapiaApr 5, 20212,716 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 2, 2021
Robert OKeefJan 5, 20213,787 shares, last reported balance as of Jan 4, 2021
Thomas OkraySep 11, 20206,231 shares, last reported balance as of Sep 10, 2020
James SlavikMar 3, 20203,915,283 shares, last reported balance as of Mar 1, 2020
James SlavikMar 3, 2020255,686 shares, last reported balance as of Mar 1, 2020
Ronald JadinMay 2, 201826,005 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 24, 2018
Laura BrownApr 4, 20188,126 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 2, 2018
Joseph HighApr 4, 20186,038 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 2, 2018
James RyanApr 4, 2017272,224 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 3, 2017
Gary RogersMar 2, 2017310 shares, last reported balance as of Mar 1, 2017
William LomaxApr 4, 20162,722 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 1, 2016
William HallMar 2, 20161,468 shares, last reported balance as of Mar 1, 2016
Court CarruthersJun 5, 201522,754 shares, last reported balance as of Jun 4, 2015
Michael AliApr 30, 20154,858 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 1, 2015
Gregory IrvingApr 30, 20143,000 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 30, 2014
John McCarter Jr.Mar 3, 201417,343 shares, last reported balance as of Mar 1, 2014
Michael PulickJul 29, 201321,135 shares, last reported balance as of Jul 26, 2013
Timothy FerrarellApr 29, 201329,692 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 26, 2013
Wilbur GantzMar 1, 2013No balance on record
Nancy HoborMay 3, 201020,650 shares, last reported balance as of May 3, 2010
Richard KeyserApr 27, 2010155,475 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 26, 2010
Harold SmithMar 2, 201045,354 shares, last reported balance as of Mar 1, 2010
Larry LoizzoApr 27, 200937,065 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 27, 2009
Ogden LouxMay 1, 200844,776 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 30, 2008
Yc ChenMay 1, 200843,746 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 30, 2008
David GraingerMar 23, 20077,773,554 shares, last reported balance as of Mar 22, 2007
Judith AndringaApr 27, 200612,296 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 26, 2006
Frederick KrehbielApr 29, 20057,680 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 27, 2005
Janiece WebbApr 1, 200511,652 shares, last reported balance as of Mar 31, 2005
James GarmanJul 28, 200420,000 shares, last reported balance as of Jul 28, 2004
John SchweigApr 29, 200441,749 shares, last reported balance as of Apr 28, 2004
John Slayton Jr.Jan 7, 200451,764 shares, last reported balance as of Jan 7, 2004
Wesley ClarkJan 6, 200465,000 shares, last reported balance as of Jan 5, 2004

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