W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,009.4286.

GWW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. 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, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.86, for a total value of $496,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,758,355.06. This represents a 22.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 60,560.0% during the 1st quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 3,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,996,000 after acquiring an additional 3,028 shares during the last quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at about $338,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.2% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 20.2% during the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $960.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $952.36 and a 200 day moving average of $1,001.78. The firm has a market cap of $45.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger has a one year low of $893.99 and a one year high of $1,201.68.

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

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 25.35%.

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.