W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $1,138.88 and last traded at $1,135.45, with a volume of 42906 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,096.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,052.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $1,029.21 and its 200 day moving average is $994.74. The company has a market cap of $56.76 billion, a PE ratio of 33.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.10.

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

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total transaction of $11,829,368.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,953.82. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,147 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 34,269.9% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 435,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $439,407,000 after buying an additional 434,199 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $24,481,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.