W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,868 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 651 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $12,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 169.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,407 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 10,784 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting W.W. Grainger

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

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on W.W. Grainger to $1,460 from $1,337, implying roughly 4.3% upside from the current price while keeping a sector perform rating. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research slightly increased its earnings estimates for Q2 2026 and Q2 2028, suggesting expectations remain solid for Grainger’s earnings power. MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage flow remains mixed: one report noted Grainger reached a new 52-week high, while another said Stephens lowered the stock to equal weight, indicating opinions are still somewhat divided. American Banking News American Banking News

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,399.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.64, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,309.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,177.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $906.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,405.72.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.86 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.79%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value of $1,795,446.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Stephens lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,230.11.

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.