Bank of America Begins Coverage on W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW)

Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued an underperform rating and a $925.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $990.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a hold rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a hold rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, June 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $1,005.20.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.4 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,025.22 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30. The stock has a market cap of $50.31 billion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger has a fifty-two week low of $674.41 and a fifty-two week high of $1,049.02. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $991.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $960.47.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.28 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 38.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at $281,104,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,167,913,000 after purchasing an additional 169,897 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter valued at $159,365,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 563.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,232,000 after purchasing an additional 61,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 67.9% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 143,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $129,175,000 after purchasing an additional 57,894 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

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.