Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires New Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management acquired 1,185 shares of W.W. Grainger valued at approximately $1.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.7% of the company.
• Grainger exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $12.01 earnings per share and $5.02 billion in revenue, with revenue up 10.3% year over year. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $45.50–$47.25.
• Analysts maintain a largely neutral view, with an average “Hold” rating and $1,286.62 price target. Grainger also declared a quarterly dividend of $2.49, representing a 0.8% annualized yield.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,612,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Westpac Banking Corp bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Korea Investment CORP bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,280,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,515,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $567,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $320,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,460.00 to $1,428.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,286.62.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.6%

GWW opened at $1,301.27 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $906.52 and a 12 month high of $1,419.91. 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 stock has a market cap of $61.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.04. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $1,344.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,232.38.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.97 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 45.500-47.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.1 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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