California State Teachers Retirement System Boosts Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System sharply increased its reported W.W. Grainger stake during the second quarter, adding 89.4 million shares. Other major institutions also adjusted their positions, with hedge funds and institutional investors collectively owning 80.7% of the stock.
• Grainger exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $12.01 in EPS versus the $11.30 consensus and $5.02 billion in revenue, up 10.3% year over year. The company maintained fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $45.50–$47.25.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $2.49 per share, equivalent to a 0.8% annualized yield. Analysts remain cautious overall, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $1,286.62.

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 125,753.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 89,436,777 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 89,365,713 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 189.89% of W.W. Grainger worth $121,669,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at $6,303,024,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,019,452 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,037,728,000 after purchasing an additional 23,399 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,834 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,230,214,000 after purchasing an additional 10,533 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,003,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake 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 worth $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 NYSE:GWW opened at $1,324.65 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.39 billion, a PE ratio of 33.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.03. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $1,339.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,240.57. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $906.52 and a 12 month high of $1,419.91.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.97 EPS. The company's revenue 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, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.17 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $2.49 per share. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is 25.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,350.00 to $1,375.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Two equities research 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, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,286.62.

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.

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