W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,009.4286.

GWW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, December 22nd.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was 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 $104,929,232.22. This trade represents a 11.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 Trading of W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GWW. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 196.0% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 24 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 316.7% during the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 25 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,023.98 on Friday. W.W. Grainger has a 52-week low of $893.99 and a 52-week high of $1,139.15. The company has a market cap of $48.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.72. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $971.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $992.88.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.40% and a net margin of 9.75%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.87 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.35%.

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.