W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Sets New 1-Year High at $1,034.19

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $1,034.19 and last traded at $1,033.50, with a volume of 78869 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,030.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,014.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $970.23 and a 200 day moving average of $956.20.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.75 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,558,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $702,000. SRN Advisors LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 1,847 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,666,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth $601,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006 shares in the last quarter. 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.