W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

GWW has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. DA Davidson started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,250.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,385.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.41 billion, a PE ratio of 37.26, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1,336.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,203.45. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,419.91.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 45.46 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total transaction of $1,795,446.53. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,471.28. This represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,624 shares of company stock valued at $3,232,291. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted 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 valued at $3,980,000 after purchasing an additional 2,407 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $43,051,000 after buying an additional 10,784 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.