W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $1,392.45 and last traded at $1,398.3260, with a volume of 7132 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,375.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson started 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 target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,216.44.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.5%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1,292.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,167.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.17, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.03.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.86 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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. Equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 26.79%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value of $1,795,446.53. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,471.28. This represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291 over the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattern Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 12,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,345,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $1,048,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 212.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,795,000 after purchasing an additional 36,855 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 160.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 68,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,756,000 after acquiring an additional 41,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 72.3% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares in 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.