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

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,109.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GWW. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,398 shares of company stock valued at $25,116,181 over the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GWW. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth $848,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,312,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 2,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,374,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 72.6% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,901,000 after buying an additional 9,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kinsale Capital Group Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 15.3% in the third quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 5,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,120.93 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger has a 1-year low of $800.97 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,148.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,025.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.39, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 38.94 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.