W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on GWW. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Stephens downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,337.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,265.12.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,370.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $64.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,338.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,206.99. W.W. Grainger has a 52 week low of $906.52 and a 52 week high of $1,419.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 45.46 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $2.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $9.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total value of $385,518.97. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% 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, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total transaction of $1,795,446.53. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. This trade represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,624 shares of company stock valued at $3,232,291. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 420.0% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 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.