VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes $10.64 Million Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 7,820 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,638,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 125,753.8% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 89,436,777 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $121,669,791,000 after acquiring an additional 89,365,713 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $813,000. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 3.5% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 774 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,065,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.8% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Saudi Central Bank grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 83.9% during the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 3,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 2.7%

GWW opened at $1,289.32 on Wednesday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $1,336.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,243.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.03. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $906.52 and a 12 month high of $1,419.91.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.97 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 45.500-47.250 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 46.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on 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. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,286.62.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc is a distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products and related services. The company serves businesses, government agencies and other organizations that need supplies to maintain facilities, equipment and operations. Its product categories include tools, safety equipment, material handling products, cleaning and maintenance supplies, electrical and lighting products, plumbing supplies, HVAC equipment and fasteners.

Founded in 1927 by William W. Grainger, the company has grown from a regional electrical-equipment distributor into a global MRO provider.