Loop Capital Boosts W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Price Target to $1,100.00

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its target price raised by Loop Capital from $900.00 to $1,100.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Loop Capital currently has a hold rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 research report on Friday, August 2nd. Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,043.20.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.6 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,092.53 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,014.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $965.23. W.W. Grainger has a 52 week low of $674.41 and a 52 week high of $1,129.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.16, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30.

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 the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 38.65 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s 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 completion of 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,340,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,504,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at approximately $224,000. 80.70% of the stock is 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.