Man Group plc Buys New Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Man Group plc purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,918,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $1,048,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at about $324,824,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,353.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,502,000 after purchasing an additional 29,092 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth about $11,591,000. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 253.8% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 3,747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,781,000 after purchasing an additional 2,688 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger News Summary

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,460.00 to $1,428.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,166.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,286.62.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.2%

GWW stock 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 market capitalization of $61.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1,342.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,234.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 45.500-47.250 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

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.