W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Price Target Raised to $1,215.00 at Morgan Stanley

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its price target boosted by Morgan Stanley from $990.00 to $1,215.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

GWW has been the subject of several other reports. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,206.65 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,098.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $996.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger has a 1 year low of $772.13 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.43 earnings per share. The business’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 38.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was 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 approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 over the last 90 days. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 36.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 576.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 4,737 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 280.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,932 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 72.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,034,000 after purchasing an additional 5,804 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.