Brokerages Set W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) PT at $1,060.13

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,060.1250.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,134.32 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $53.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10. W.W. Grainger has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,218.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,068.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,003.69. 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 (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.02). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.The business had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the transaction, the vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 107,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,929,232.22. The trade was a 11.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155 over the last quarter. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 15.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,169,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,205,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 5,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 109,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $104,562,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 10.4% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 44,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,853,000 after purchasing an additional 4,228 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.