W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,109.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GWW shares. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Northcoast Research initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,206.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.71, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger has a 52 week low of $772.13 and a 52 week high of $1,227.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,098.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $996.92.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.43 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 38.92 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, 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 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GWW. State Street Corp raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after acquiring an additional 45,369 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,679,911,000 after purchasing an additional 40,992 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,208,610,000 after purchasing an additional 28,626 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $568,188,000 after buying an additional 42,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

About W.W. Grainger

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.