W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Receives $938.89 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $938.89.

Several analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GWW. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 170.0% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $956.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $46.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $976.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $887.57. W.W. Grainger has a 1-year low of $641.95 and a 1-year high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 39.27 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.64%.

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.