W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $1,148.56.

GWW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Northcoast Research began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group initiated 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 target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,038.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market cap of $50.57 billion, a PE ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger has a 1 year low of $874.98 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1,098.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,069.84.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GWW. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 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.