W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $959.44.

Several research firms recently issued reports on GWW. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, June 14th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Baird R W lowered W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Stephens upgraded W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $902.24 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger has a 1-year low of $674.41 and a 1-year high of $1,034.18. The company has a market capitalization of $44.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.16. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $928.40 and a 200-day moving average of $926.40.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.61 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 39.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.0% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% during the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copperwynd Financial LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.