Brokerages Set W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Price Target at $1,151.50

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,151.50.

A number of research analysts recently commented on GWW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $973.54 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,027.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,077.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. W.W. Grainger has a fifty-two week low of $874.98 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $46.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18.

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 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 period last year, the business earned $8.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GWW. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at $848,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 313.3% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $1,741,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $22,901,000 after purchasing an additional 9,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bancreek Capital Management LP bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,687,000. 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.