W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Price Target Cut to $975.00 by Analysts at Loop Capital

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its price target trimmed by Loop Capital from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $920.30 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $979.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $879.00. The company has a market cap of $45.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.14. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $641.95 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18.

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

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 20.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,664,629.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 170.0% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.