Empowered Funds LLC Makes New Investment in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC purchased 18,793 W.W. Grainger shares worth approximately $25.6 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.7% of the company.
• Grainger beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $12.01 and revenue of $5.02 billion, while revenue grew 10.3% year over year. The company maintained fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $45.50–$47.25.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating and a $1,286.62 target price, below the stock’s $1,319.67 opening price. Grainger also announced a quarterly dividend of $2.49 per share, representing a 0.8% annualized yield.

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 18,793 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $25,566,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $6,303,024,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,081,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,237 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $518,958,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth $621,127,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in 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 worth $439,407,000 after purchasing an additional 434,199 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,350.00 to $1,375.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,460.00 to $1,428.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,286.62.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.2%

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,319.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.16 billion, a PE ratio of 33.65, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's fifty day moving average is $1,344.10 and its 200 day moving average is $1,234.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. 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 issued 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 business had revenue of $5.02 billion during 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 firm'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, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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