W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Coverage Initiated at Northcoast Research

Stock analysts at Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on GWW. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price target for the company. Loop Capital boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,043.20.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,100.34 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.38, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,030.55 and a 200 day moving average of $969.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.40. W.W. Grainger has a 1-year low of $721.99 and a 1-year high of $1,129.92.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $9.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 38.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aviance Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at $356,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 36.7% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 67 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter worth $1,485,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 22.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $734,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. 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.