W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Price Target Raised to $1,165.00

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its target price lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,060.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,198.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.83. W.W. Grainger has a 52-week low of $893.99 and a 52-week high of $1,204.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1,038.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $996.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.10.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.71 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total value of $14,128,119.63. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,929,232.22. This represents a 11.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 196.0% during the second 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 last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 211.1% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 19 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.