Plato Investment Management Ltd Takes $1.47 Million Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management acquired a new $1.47 million position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.7% of the company.
• Grainger exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $12.01 in EPS on $5.02 billion in revenue, with revenue up 10.3% year over year. The company guided for fiscal 2026 EPS of $45.50–$47.25.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.49, equivalent to a 0.8% annualized yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $1,274.12, below the reported $1,319 share price.

Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,083 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,465,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GWW. Mattern Capital Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 12,234 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,345,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,048,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,353.1% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,242 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,502,000 after acquiring an additional 29,092 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 72.3% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,374,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 526.9% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,655 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.3%

GWW opened at $1,319.00 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $906.52 and a fifty-two week 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $1,345.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,224.11. The company has a market capitalization of $62.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $11.30 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.96 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 48.73%. The business's revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.97 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 45.500-47.250 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.14 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,350.00 to $1,375.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,460.00 to $1,428.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,166.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,274.12.

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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