Wellington Management Group LLP Trims Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 24.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 775,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 257,208 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,055,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GWW. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth $6,303,024,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $518,958,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at $621,127,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 434,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 389,589 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,305.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,342.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,234.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.29, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,419.91.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue 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 predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on GWW. Barclays upped their price target on 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. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,286.62.

W.W. Grainger News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting W.W. Grainger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded GWW to a No. 2 (Buy) rank, citing growing optimism about the company’s earnings prospects. Zacks rating upgrade article
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple future EPS estimates, including FY2027 to $50.40 from $50.21 and FY2028 to $54.37 from $54.17. Estimates were also increased for Q1 2027, Q2 2027, Q4 2027 and Q2 2028, suggesting modestly improving expectations for profitability. MarketBeat analyst estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Grainger’s latest reported quarter exceeded expectations, with EPS of $12.01 versus the $11.30 consensus and revenue of $5.02 billion versus $4.96 billion. Revenue increased 10.3% year over year, supporting the case for continued earnings growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street commentary is mixed: GWW has outperformed the broader market over the past year, but analysts remain cautious about its future upside. Barchart analyst outlook article
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation may be limiting enthusiasm. Grainger trades at roughly 33 times earnings, while its shares are below the 50-day moving average after approaching a 12-month high. Investors may be taking profits or demanding stronger estimate increases before bidding the stock higher. MSN analyst outlook article

About W.W. Grainger

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.