W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Sets New 1-Year High at $1,034.19

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $1,034.19 and last traded at $1,033.50, with a volume of 78869 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,030.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Baird R W cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley started 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 on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,014.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $50.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $967.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $956.10.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.28 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.4% in 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 buying an additional 169,897 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $324,841,000 after buying an additional 17,699 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $281,104,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 243,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 240,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $199,595,000 after buying an additional 42,395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

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.