Morgan Stanley Boosts W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Price Target to $1,190.00

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 3.59% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,071.38.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,148.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $54.41 billion, a PE ratio of 32.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.10. 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 has a 12 month low of $893.99 and a 12 month high of $1,218.63. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1,089.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,016.01.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.71 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, 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 value of $199,666.35. Following the sale, the vice president owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,953.82. This trade 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 is available through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total transaction of $11,829,368.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,035,434.45. This represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 15.1% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth $4,205,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 20.4% during the third quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 5,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,667,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $104,562,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.7% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 60,164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,334,000 after buying an additional 2,120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.