W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank Of Canada Analyst Says

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $1,337.00 to $1,460.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 4.83% from the company’s previous close.

GWW has been the topic of several other reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,392.73 on Thursday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,312.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,178.69. W.W. Grainger has a 12-month low of $906.52 and a 12-month high of $1,419.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.46, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.03.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 45.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total value of $385,518.97. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 399 shares in the company, valued at $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 2,624 shares of company stock valued at $3,232,291 in the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,081,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,237 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $518,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 34,269.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 435,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $439,407,000 after buying an additional 434,199 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 61.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,027,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,584,000 after buying an additional 389,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $239,597,000. Hedge funds and other 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.