W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General trimmed its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% to 337,999 shares (about $322.1M), while other large investors either added or initiated positions — Parnassus (~$721.2M), Norges Bank (~$536.9M) and Vanguard (now 5.63M shares, ~$5.85B) — leaving institutional ownership at ~80.7%.
• Recent results and guidance: Grainger reported EPS of $9.45 (missing by $0.01) and revenue of $4.43B (up 4.5% YoY), and set FY2026 guidance of 42.25–44.75 EPS versus a sell-side average of ~40.3, with a market cap of $52.6B and a PE of 31.36.
• A company VP sold 195 shares at $1,023.93 (insiders own ~6.1%), Grainger pays a quarterly dividend of $2.26 (annual $9.04, yield ~0.8%), and the consensus analyst rating is a Hold with an average price target near $1,071.

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 337,999 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,266 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.71% of W.W. Grainger worth $322,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $721,202,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $536,916,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,627,273 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,853,714,000 after acquiring an additional 238,895 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 443,386 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $422,529,000 after acquiring an additional 140,869 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $63,913,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were 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 owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.3%

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,109.86 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $1,099.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,020.23. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $893.99 and a 1-year high of $1,218.63. The company has a market cap of $52.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.The business 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 company posted $9.71 EPS. The company'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, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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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