W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Receives $959.44 Average PT from Brokerages

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $959.44.

GWW has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Baird R W cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.2 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $902.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.19. W.W. Grainger has a fifty-two week low of $674.41 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $928.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $924.92.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.61 EPS. Analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 39.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.0% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Copperwynd Financial LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.