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

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $749.57.

GWW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $647.00 to $653.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. UBS Group decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 28th. StockNews.com started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $795.00 to $790.00 in a report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $775.00 target price on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, August 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 3,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.85, for a total value of $2,530,588.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,811,662.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 7.2% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,372,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,447,721,000 after buying an additional 294,558 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $966,451,000 after buying an additional 204,507 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 739.2% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,090,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $88,545,000 after buying an additional 960,833 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.5% during the second quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,074,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $846,989,000 after purchasing an additional 5,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,054,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $829,498,000 after purchasing an additional 27,222 shares in the last quarter. 71.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $808.77 on Tuesday. W.W. Grainger has a 1-year low of $534.01 and a 1-year high of $811.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $724.39 and its 200 day moving average is $720.79. The company has a market cap of $40.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 1.69.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The industrial products company reported $9.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.85 by $0.58. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 58.02% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 36.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 13th will be issued a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 20.75%.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services in the United States, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety and security supplies, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance supplies, and metalworking and hand tools.