W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,190 to $1,300, implying about 4.66% upside from the current share price while keeping an “equal weight” rating.
• Several other analysts also turned more constructive or lifted targets, including RBC, Oppenheimer, Stephens, Weiss Ratings, and Wall Street Zen. Overall, the stock still carries a consensus Hold rating with a consensus target of $1,212.88.
• Grainger recently posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $11.65 beating estimates and revenue of $4.74 billion topping forecasts, though the shares were down slightly in Wednesday trading.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would suggest a potential upside of 4.66% from the stock's current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Stephens raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings raised W.W. Grainger from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,212.88.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.6%

GWW stock traded down $7.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $1,242.09. The company had a trading volume of 74,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 268,860. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,155.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,084.30. The company has a market capitalization of $58.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger has a 52 week low of $906.52 and a 52 week high of $1,286.56.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The business's revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 45.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the firm'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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total value of $1,658,048.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at $11,745,625.48. This trade represents a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mattern Capital Management LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 12,234 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,345,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,523 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,169,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth $4,205,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 5,947 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 36,855 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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.