JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Stock Price

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its price objective upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on GWW. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,060.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of GWW opened at $1,198.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.97 billion, a PE ratio of 33.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1,038.94 and its 200-day moving average is $997.27. W.W. Grainger has a 12 month low of $893.99 and a 12 month high of $1,204.36.

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

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total value of $11,829,368.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,035,434.45. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155 in the last three months. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 3.3% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 313 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,805,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.4% during the second quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

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.