W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Research Coverage Started at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a market perform rating and a $975.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock.

GWW has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $1,018.00.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $925.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $966.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,012.29. W.W. Grainger has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,227.44. The stock has a market cap of $44.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.63% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.87 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.86, for a total transaction of $496,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,758,355.06. The trade was a 22.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $274,000. Pure Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $287,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 128.8% in the second quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 2,128 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,214,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 7.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 15,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,795,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares during the period. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 7.8% during the second quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,455,000 after buying an additional 1,428 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools.