W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,199.1250.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Stephens increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,250.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,155.37 and a 200 day moving average of $1,084.30. The company has a market cap of $59.06 billion, a PE ratio of 33.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. W.W. Grainger has a 12-month low of $906.52 and a 12-month high of $1,286.56.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced 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 company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 45.35 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,064.73, for a total value of $2,490,403.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,897,511.55. This represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value of $1,795,446.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,816,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 169.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,980,000 after acquiring an additional 2,407 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 35.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,051,000 after acquiring an additional 10,784 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by 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.