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

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,212.8750.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Stephens increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,267.81 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $1,170.46 and its 200 day moving average is $1,092.51. W.W. Grainger has a 1 year low of $906.52 and a 1 year high of $1,286.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (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 in the prior year, the company posted $9.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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. On average, research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 45.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $2.49 dividend. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.79%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 399 shares in the company, valued at $491,444.31. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings 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 worth $1,081,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,237 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $518,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 34,269.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 434,199 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 61.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,027,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,036,584,000 after acquiring an additional 389,589 shares during the period. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $239,597,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.