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

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,140.56.

Several equities analysts have commented on GWW shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,053.05 on Friday. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $826.55 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.28 billion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,139.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,045.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted 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). The firm 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%. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 38.94 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was 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 owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643 in the last three months. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,291 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,405,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 89.5% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 4,328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,562,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 1,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 300 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.