W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $1,419.91 and last traded at $1,396.7630, with a volume of 327628 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,395.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GWW. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens cut W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1,312.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,179.76. The stock has a market cap of $65.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total value of $385,518.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $491,444.31. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291 in the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GWW. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 420.0% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.