NEOS Investment Management LLC Acquires 2,077 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 339.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,077 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $2,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Quaker Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 196.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 24 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 136.4% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Tobam boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3,900.0% in the second quarter. Tobam now owns 40 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Key W.W. Grainger News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple forward EPS estimates across FY2026–FY2028 and several quarters (notably lifting Q2–Q4 2026 and Q1–Q3/FY2027 estimates and raising FY2027 & FY2028). Those upward revisions point to stronger expected earnings growth, supporting a higher valuation for GWW (current P/E ~31.9) and are a primary reason investors are buying the stock. MarketBeat GWW page
• Positive Sentiment: A MarketBeat feature on Genuine Parts Company’s spin-off highlights that pure-play industrial distributors (including W.W. Grainger) trade at premium multiples. That sector-level comparison underscores Grainger’s status as a benchmark industrial distributor and supports the view that continued earnings growth could sustain or expand GWW’s premium multiple. The Hidden Value in Genuine Parts Company’s Spin-Off Plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate governance update — Grainger announced a slate of 12 incumbent directors to stand for re-election at the April 29, 2026 annual meeting. This is routine and has limited direct impact on near-term fundamentals. Board slate announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks also lowered its Q1 2026 EPS estimate (from $10.40 to $10.09), signalling some near-term demand/seasonality or margin pressure. That single-quarter cut injects caution into the outlook and helps explain intraday pullbacks when investors focus on short-term beats/misses.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,249,953.82. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total transaction of $14,128,119.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 107,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,929,232.22. This trade represents a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Barclays raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer increased their target price 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, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,060.13.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.6%

GWW opened at $1,127.05 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. The firm has a market cap of $53.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.85, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $893.99 and a 12 month high of $1,218.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,070.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,004.54.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.71 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 25.54%.

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.