Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes $19.60 Million Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 14,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,601,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 420.0% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GWW. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,350.00 to $1,375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Stephens downgraded W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,166.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,286.62.

Key Stories Impacting W.W. Grainger

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

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,305.72 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $906.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,419.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $61.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,342.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,234.83.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.30 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 48.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.97 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 45.500-47.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.17 earnings per share 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. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.40%.

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.