W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Upgraded to Overweight by Stephens

Stephens upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Stephens currently has $1,250.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $1,000.00.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on GWW. UBS Group lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Loop Capital cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a buy rating to a hold rating and upped their price target for the company from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.6 %

GWW stock opened at $934.57 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $45.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $979.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $877.66. W.W. Grainger has a 52 week low of $641.95 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.61 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 39.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $2.05 dividend. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.54%.

Insider Activity

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 value of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. 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 have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at about $300,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,674,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the period. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth about $202,000. Crew Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $655,000. Finally, Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Institutional investors 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.