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

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,130.89.

GWW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $979.84 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The company has a market cap of $47.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $987.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,070.61.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 21.18%.

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.