The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes $30.06 Million Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 22,099 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,063,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $1,048,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at $324,824,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 1,353.1% during 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 buying an additional 29,092 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at $11,591,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 180,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $182,628,000 after buying an additional 18,868 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,319.67 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $906.52 and a 1-year 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,344.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,234.33. The company has a market capitalization of $62.16 billion, a PE ratio of 33.65, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.30 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 48.73% and a net margin of 9.92%.W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.97 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 45.500-47.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,166.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Stephens downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,286.62.

W.W. Grainger 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.