W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Lowered to “Equal Weight” Rating by Stephens

Stephens lowered shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $1,355.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on GWW. DA Davidson started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,216.44.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,371.93 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,405.72. The stock has a market cap of $64.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,301.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,172.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 45.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. This trade represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total value of $385,518.97. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. 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 lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.