W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Receives $1,109.00 Consensus PT from Brokerages

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,140.56.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target for the company. Northcoast Research began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,092.96 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $53.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,150.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,026.14. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $800.97 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 38.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,398 shares of company stock worth $25,116,181. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GWW. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.