W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Shares Gap Down to $1,000.85

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $1,000.85, but opened at $974.24. W.W. Grainger shares last traded at $968.45, with a volume of 40,686 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GWW shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Loop Capital lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $47.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $979.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $856.83.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth about $210,000. Retirement Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 192.8% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 31.9% during the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.