Royal Bank of Canada Boosts W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Price Target to $1,125.00

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its price target boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

GWW has been the subject of several other research reports. Oppenheimer lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,058.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW opened at $1,095.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.70, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger has a 12-month low of $758.11 and a 12-month high of $1,130.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,035.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $972.05.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 38.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were 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 approximately $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 225.0% in the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth about $42,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.