W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Now Covered by Morgan Stanley

Research analysts at Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 4.44% from the stock’s current price.

GWW has been the topic of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Baird R W cut W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,014.11.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE GWW opened at $947.93 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $951.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $953.90. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $674.41 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $46.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.28 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 38.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,691,289.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $392,470,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $281,104,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.4% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,167,913,000 after purchasing an additional 169,897 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter worth $159,365,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 563.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,232,000 after purchasing an additional 61,400 shares in the last quarter. 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.