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

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $1,016.5714.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,045.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total transaction of $11,829,368.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,035,434.45. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,249,953.82. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,462,252,000 after purchasing an additional 104,607 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,996,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,902,159,000 after buying an additional 13,779 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,260,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,306,289,000 after buying an additional 23,418 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth about $721,202,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 659,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $628,151,000 after acquiring an additional 3,114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,058.57 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger has a 12-month low of $893.99 and a 12-month high of $1,139.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $997.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $991.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.12.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 49.40%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.87 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. Equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

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.