W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wolfe Research

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wolfe Research to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on GWW. Baird R W lowered W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird downgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of 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. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,014.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.8 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,032.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a PEG ratio of 2.07 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $974.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $957.40. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $674.41 and a twelve month high of $1,049.02.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.28 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 38.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,558,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth approximately $702,000. SRN Advisors LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% during the second quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 1,847 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at $601,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,354,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.