W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $1,390.96 and last traded at $1,376.4270, with a volume of 35511 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $1,342.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on GWW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Stephens increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of 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. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,216.44.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.6%

The company has a market cap of $63.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.39, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,252.58 and a 200 day moving average of $1,141.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.39 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,658,048.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. This represents a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,112 shares of company stock worth $4,890,339. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 18.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after buying an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,407 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 35.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,051,000 after buying an additional 10,784 shares in the last quarter. 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.