W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its price objective upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 2.76% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,060.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,198.11 on Friday. W.W. Grainger has a 12-month low of $893.99 and a 12-month high of $1,204.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,038.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $997.01.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.02). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The business had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total transaction of $11,829,368.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,035,434.45. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quaker Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 196.0% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 24 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 136.4% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 211.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 19 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 (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.