W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Given New $1,125.00 Price Target at Sanford C. Bernstein

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein raised its price target on W.W. Grainger to $1,125 from $1,052 but kept a "market perform" rating, implying roughly a 3.3% downside from the current share price.
• Analyst views are mixed: the consensus rating is a "Hold" with a consensus target of $1,118.14, while individual price targets range from about $1,047 (Barclays) up to $1,300 (Oppenheimer).
• Recent fundamentals show a slight EPS miss (reported $9.45 vs. $9.46 expected) but revenue beat and FY2026 guidance of $42.25–$44.75 EPS; additionally, CFO Deidra Merriwether sold 1,488 shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan, reducing her stake by 12.37%.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Sanford C. Bernstein from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's price target suggests a potential downside of 3.30% from the company's current price.

GWW has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,118.14.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,163.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $55.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.87, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.09. The business's fifty day moving average is $1,116.21 and its 200 day moving average is $1,042.21. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $906.52 and a twelve month high of $1,218.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.46% and a net margin of 9.51%.W.W. Grainger's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.71 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. Research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 43.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total transaction of $1,658,048.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,745,625.48. This trade represents a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at $2,400,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at $201,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 115.2% during the first quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 624 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at $200,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 7.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.