W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $1,140.56.

GWW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,398 shares of company stock valued at $25,116,181 over the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Optas LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,090.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,150.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,032.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. W.W. Grainger has a 12-month low of $800.97 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 38.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

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.