EP Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,515,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth approximately $6,303,024,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,003,237 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $518,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 34,269.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 435,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,407,000 after purchasing an additional 434,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 61.1% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 389,589 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,312.12 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,344.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,229.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.80 billion, a PE ratio of 33.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $906.52 and a one year high of $1,419.91.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.30 by $0.71. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 48.73% and a net margin of 9.92%.The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.97 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 45.500-47.250 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $2.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 25.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,166.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,350.00 to $1,375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,274.12.

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.