W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,216.4444.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. 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 report on Tuesday.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,371.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $64.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1,248.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,140.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69. W.W. Grainger has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,390.96.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 45.39 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $2.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 value of $1,795,446.53. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. The trade was a 12.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,112 shares of company stock worth $4,890,339. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% 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.