Morgan Stanley Raises W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Price Target to $1,190.00

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 4.30% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on GWW. Oppenheimer upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,071.38.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded down $11.34 on Tuesday, hitting $1,140.91. 75,836 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 291,814. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,084.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,013.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.04 billion, a PE ratio of 32.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09. W.W. Grainger has a one year low of $893.99 and a one year high of $1,218.63.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.46 by ($0.01). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $11,829,368.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,035,434.45. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 136.4% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 26 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 211.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.