W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Receives $1,014.11 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,014.11.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. 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 research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price on the stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 170.0% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 275.0% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $988.64 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.28 billion, a PE ratio of 27.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. W.W. Grainger has a 12-month low of $674.41 and a 12-month high of $1,034.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $956.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $954.45.

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

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.64%.

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.