W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Position Reduced by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB trimmed its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 81.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,664 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 129,693 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $28,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 211.1% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 650.0% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 25.5% in the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — GAAP diluted EPS $11.65 vs. consensus ~$10.2 and revenue $4.74B vs. ~$4.58B; sales rose ~10% y/y and operating margin improved ~110 bps, showing margin expansion. GRAINGER REPORTS RESULTS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised FY2026 guidance — EPS guide of $44.25–$46.25 (above consensus) and revenue guide $19.2B–$19.6B, implying continued top‑line momentum. MarketBeat: GWW overview
• Positive Sentiment: Services demand cited as a growth driver; management signaled confident growth on the earnings call and analysts lifted views after the print. WW Grainger raises annual profit forecast on strong services demand
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns and cash generation: $739M operating cash flow in Q1 and $345M returned via dividends and buybacks; announced a 10% quarterly dividend increase — supports total‑return thesis. GRAINGER REPORTS RESULTS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and materials available for deeper due diligence (transcript and slide deck). Useful for investors wanting color on segment performance and execution. Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and expectations: GWW currently trades at a premium (PE ~34.9, PEG ~2.47) — the premium may limit upside if growth or margin improvements slow. (Background metrics from market summaries.)

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,118.14.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 5.6%

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,235.14 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $906.52 and a 12 month high of $1,286.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,121.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,058.34. The company has a market cap of $58.46 billion, a PE ratio of 34.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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 analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 43.61 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a $2.49 dividend. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total value of $1,658,048.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. This trade represents a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

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.