W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $1,352.71 and last traded at $1,359.7860, with a volume of 76680 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,311.10.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,217.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,234.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,128.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69. The stock has a market cap of $64.44 billion, a PE ratio of 36.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $2.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value of $1,795,446.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. This trade represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 2,339 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,064.73, for a total transaction of $2,490,403.47. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,897,511.55. The trade was a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,816,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 169.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,980,000 after purchasing an additional 2,407 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 35.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,051,000 after purchasing an additional 10,784 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About W.W. Grainger

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.