W.W. Grainger (GWW) – Research Analysts’ Recent Ratings Updates

A number of firms have modified their ratings and price targets on shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE: GWW) recently:

• 11/19/2024 – W.W. Grainger had its price target raised by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $990.00 to $1,215.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 11/13/2024 – W.W. Grainger is now covered by analysts at UBS Group AG. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the stock.
• 11/4/2024 – W.W. Grainger was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
• 11/1/2024 – W.W. Grainger had its price target raised by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00. They now have a “sector perform” rating on the stock.
• 10/29/2024 – W.W. Grainger is now covered by analysts at Northcoast Research. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 10/21/2024 – W.W. Grainger had its price target raised by analysts at Loop Capital from $900.00 to $1,100.00. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock.
• 10/17/2024 – W.W. Grainger was downgraded by analysts at Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating.
• 10/16/2024 – W.W. Grainger was upgraded by analysts at Baird R W from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating.
• 10/16/2024 – W.W. Grainger was upgraded by analysts at Robert W. Baird from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating. They now have a $1,230.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $975.00.
• 10/7/2024 – W.W. Grainger is now covered by analysts at Bank of America Co.. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target on the stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,190.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $772.13 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.99 billion, a PE ratio of 32.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,094.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $995.07.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This represents a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 in the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GWW. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 537.5% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.