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

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,109.00.

GWW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of GWW opened at $1,120.93 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger has a 1-year low of $800.97 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,148.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,025.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.39, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 38.94 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of W.W. Grainger 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 in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. This represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,398 shares of company stock valued at $25,116,181. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth about $848,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 2,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,374,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 72.6% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 9,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kinsale Capital Group Inc. increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 15.3% in the third quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 5,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.