W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $938.89.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.4% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,353,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 23,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 6.0% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 26.9% in the third quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.7% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,374 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,642,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $940.02 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger has a 12-month low of $641.95 and a 12-month high of $1,034.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $977.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $883.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.61 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 39.27 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 20.54%.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

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.