W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Share Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)’s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $1,036.08 and traded as high as $1,065.88. W.W. Grainger shares last traded at $1,058.21, with a volume of 180,977 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $51.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,148.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,036.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock valued at $11,634,643. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% in the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 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.