Brokerages Set W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) PT at $1,109.00

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,109.00.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Loop Capital raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a 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, UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. This represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.9% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,205.87 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1,106.61 and a 200-day moving average of $1,001.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $772.13 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market cap of $58.73 billion, a PE ratio of 32.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.15.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 38.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

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.