Madison Asset Management LLC Acquires New Shares in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $4,251,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 18.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,816,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 169.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,826 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,980,000 after buying an additional 2,407 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 35.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,388 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,051,000 after buying an additional 10,784 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped 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 report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,274.12.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,299.30 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $1,344.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,228.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.30 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 48.73% and a net margin of 9.92%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.97 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 45.500-47.250 EPS. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

W.W. Grainger News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting W.W. Grainger this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised its longer-term earnings outlook. Estimates increased for FY2026 EPS to $45.85 from $44.87, FY2027 EPS to $50.21 from $49.47, and FY2028 EPS to $54.17 from $53.10. Analysts also lifted several quarterly forecasts, including Q1 2027, Q2 2027, Q4 2027, Q1 2028 and Q2 2028. These revisions suggest improving expectations for Grainger’s earnings growth beyond the immediate quarter.
• Positive Sentiment: Grainger opened a new Northwest Distribution Center in Gresham, Oregon. The facility expands the company’s distribution infrastructure, supports local employment and strengthens its regional presence. While the announcement does not provide specific financial guidance, added capacity could support service levels and future sales growth. Grainger Opens Northwest Distribution Center in Gresham, Oregon
• Neutral Sentiment: The distribution-center opening is likely a gradual catalyst. The investment may improve logistics and customer fulfillment over time, but the company did not disclose the facility’s expected revenue, cost or earnings impact, limiting its immediate significance for the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed third-quarter EPS forecasts. Q3 2026 EPS expectations fell to $11.46 from $11.64, while Q3 2027 estimates declined to $12.77 from $12.87. The reductions point to somewhat softer near-term expectations and may be weighing on shares, despite the stronger full-year and later-period forecasts.

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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