Barclays Cuts W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Price Target to $1,166.00

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Barclays from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 13.23% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. DA Davidson began 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 on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,216.44.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,343.73 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger has a 52 week low of $906.52 and a 52 week high of $1,377.08. The company has a market capitalization of $63.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.14, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,237.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,132.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 45.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total value of $1,658,048.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. The trade was a 12.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 4,112 shares of company stock valued at $4,890,339 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 18.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 35.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,051,000 after buying an additional 10,784 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.