Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Three Seasons Wealth LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth $548,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth about $109,000. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH now owns 1,920 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at about $215,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,850 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger News Roundup

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

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total transaction of $385,518.97. Following the sale, the vice president owned 399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $491,444.31. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 2,624 shares of company stock valued at $3,232,291 over the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,399.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $66.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,309.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,177.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $906.52 and a 1 year high of $1,405.72.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.86 EPS. The business’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. On average, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens downgraded 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 research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,230.11.

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.