Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 3,911 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 101,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,911 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $101,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $682,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 3,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,772,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total transaction of $1,658,048.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. This represents a 12.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

More W.W. Grainger News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — Grainger reported $11.65 EPS vs. consensus ~$10.20 and revenue of $4.74B, driven by 10.1% year‑over‑year top‑line growth. This is the primary catalyst for the stock move. W.W. Grainger (GWW) Q1 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised FY2026 guidance (EPS $44.25–$46.25 vs. consensus ~43.65; revenue $19.2B–$19.6B vs. ~$19.0B), signaling confidence in sustained demand and supporting higher valuation multiples. Grainger Beats Q1 Earnings Estimates on Strong Sales, Raises 2026 View
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability and cash generation improved — operating margin expanded ~110 bps to 16.7%, operating cash flow was $739M, and the company returned $345M via dividends and buybacks while raising the quarterly dividend 10%. These items support shareholder return expectations. GRAINGER REPORTS RESULTS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Company cites strong services demand as a driver of the raised profit forecast, indicating recurring revenue/attach rates are supporting growth beyond product sales. WW Grainger raises annual profit forecast on strong services demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings materials and the earnings‑call transcript are available for detail on segment trends, pricing, and commercial execution — useful for investors assessing sustainability of organic growth and margin gains. W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript W.W. Grainger, Inc. 2026 Q1 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and expectations are elevated after the beat and guide lift (GWW trades at a mid‑30s P/E), so the stock could be sensitive to any signs of demand softening or margin pressure in coming quarters. W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on GWW. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of 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. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,118.14.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 5.6%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,235.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $906.52 and a 12 month high of $1,286.56. The firm has a market capitalization 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,121.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,058.34.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The company’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 43.61 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

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.