W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Stock Rating Lowered by Oppenheimer

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) was downgraded by investment analysts at Oppenheimer from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on GWW. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Bank of America began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,030.70.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,125.32 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger has a 12-month low of $674.41 and a 12-month high of $1,128.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,008.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $964.28.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 38.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

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

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 36.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 11.2% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 59,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,857,000 after buying an additional 6,042 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 576.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after buying an additional 4,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 280.4% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,365,000 after buying an additional 1,932 shares during the last quarter. 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.