Korea Investment CORP Lowers Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP lowered its holdings by 14.4%, selling 5,138 shares to end Q3 with 30,625 shares of W.W. Grainger worth about $29.18 million (0.06% ownership).
• W.W. Grainger’s latest quarter missed EPS by $0.01 while revenue rose 4.5% year‑over‑year, and the company set FY2026 guidance of $42.25–$44.75 EPS; it trades with a market cap of $52.85 billion and a P/E of ~31.5.
• Analysts’ consensus is a “Hold” with an average target of $1,071.38, institutions own about 80.7% of the stock, and Grainger pays a $9.04 annualized dividend (0.8% yield).

Korea Investment CORP lowered its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 14.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,625 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,138 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.06% of W.W. Grainger worth $29,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GWW. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 15.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,523 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,169,000 after buying an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at about $4,205,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 20.4% during the third quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 5,947 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 109,723 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $104,562,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 44,968 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,853,000 after acquiring an additional 4,228 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,115.71 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $893.99 and a 12-month high of $1,218.63. The stock has a market cap of $52.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.53, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $1,095.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,019.00.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.W.W. Grainger's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.71 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,071.38.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,953.82. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger 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.

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