Carderock Capital Management Inc. Acquires 760 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Carderock Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 760 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger makes up approximately 2.1% of Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $9,351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,265.12.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,300.60 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,339.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,208.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,419.91. The company has a market cap of $61.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $12.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.30 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.97 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 45.500-47.250 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 earnings per share 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 dividend of $2.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total transaction of $1,795,446.53. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291 over the last 90 days. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key W.W. Grainger News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Grainger reported second-quarter sales of approximately $5.0 billion, up 10.3% year over year, while diluted EPS increased 20.5% to $12.01. Both figures exceeded analyst expectations, supported by strong demand, higher sales and operating-margin expansion to 16.1%. Grainger Reports Results for the Second Quarter 2026
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year 2026 outlook, including adjusted EPS guidance of $45.50 to $47.25 and revenue guidance of $19.4 billion to $19.7 billion. Grainger also generated $444 million in operating cash flow and returned $341 million to shareholders through dividends and repurchases. Grainger Beats Q2 Earnings Estimates on Margin Gains, Raises Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts highlighted GWW as a strong momentum stock following the earnings release. However, momentum ratings do not materially change the company’s earnings outlook or valuation. Why W.W. Grainger Is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Negative Sentiment: The market’s negative reaction suggests the earnings beat and guidance increase may have been largely anticipated. At roughly 35 times earnings, GWW’s valuation leaves less room for disappointment, while the updated EPS range is broadly in line with consensus expectations. Margin gains also included IEEPA tariff refunds, which investors may view as a potentially nonrecurring benefit. W.W. Grainger Q2 2026 Beats on Revenue but Stock Drops
• Negative Sentiment: Grainger also named Laurie Thomson interim chief financial officer. The transition adds a modest execution and leadership-overhang risk, although no operational disruption was indicated. Grainger Names Laurie Thomson Interim Chief Financial Officer

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.