W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Raised to “Outperform” at Robert W. Baird

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) was upgraded by Robert W. Baird from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $1,230.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $975.00. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 9.85% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,030.70.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,119.71 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger has a 1-year low of $674.41 and a 1-year high of $1,119.96. The company has a market cap of $54.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.91, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,005.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $963.48.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 38.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 170.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 275.0% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% during the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.