W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on GWW. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $913.89.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $929.26 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $979.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $875.13. The firm has a market cap of $45.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.14. W.W. Grainger has a 1 year low of $641.95 and a 1 year high of $1,034.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.61 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 39.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,451,000 after purchasing an additional 204,507 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 978,154 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $810,586,000 after acquiring an additional 12,445 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 751,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,163,000 after acquiring an additional 13,063 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 689,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $571,042,000 after acquiring an additional 11,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,411,000 after acquiring an additional 47,731 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by 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.