W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Raised to Strong-Buy at Baird R W

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) was upgraded by stock analysts at Baird R W from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,030.70.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 2.5 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,112.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,002.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $962.39. The company has a market capitalization of $54.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger has a 52 week low of $674.41 and a 52 week high of $1,115.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 38.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 170.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% in the 1st quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools.