W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Lowered to “Market Perform” at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price objective for the company. Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,030.70.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,127.00 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,008.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $964.03. The company has a market capitalization of $55.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.12, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger has a 52-week low of $674.41 and a 52-week high of $1,128.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 38.65 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,825,000 after acquiring an additional 2,958 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 46.1% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $431,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 3.6% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,917,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.