Magnetar Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 1,697 W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake of 1,697 shares in W.W. Grainger during Q3 valued at about $1.62 million, amid sizable new or increased positions from other institutions (Parnassus, Norges Bank, Vanguard) and overall institutional ownership of roughly 80.7%.
• Grainger reported $9.45 EPS (missing estimates by $0.01) and $4.43 billion revenue (+4.5% y/y) and set FY2026 guidance of $42.25–$44.75 EPS versus analysts' average forecast of about $40.3; the stock trades with a market cap of $51.24 billion and a P/E of 30.59.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $2.26 ($9.04 annualized, yield ~0.8%, payout ratio 25.5%), while analysts remain mixed — consensus rating "Hold" with a target of $1,071.38 and recent price targets ranging roughly $1,165–$1,300.

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,697 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,617,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $721,202,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at approximately $536,916,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,627,273 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,853,714,000 after buying an additional 238,895 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 46.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 443,386 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $422,529,000 after buying an additional 140,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth $63,913,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,082.62 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $893.99 and a 52-week high of $1,218.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,100.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,020.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.83. The company has a market capitalization of $51.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10.

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

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GWW shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,071.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

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.

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