W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Receives $1,151.50 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $1,151.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.4 %

GWW stock opened at $973.54 on Friday. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $46.94 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,027.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,077.75.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.33 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 21.18%.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,330,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,618,812,000 after buying an additional 40,376 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,074,702,000 after purchasing an additional 45,369 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,194,747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,256,400,000 after purchasing an additional 27,716 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $718,769,000 after purchasing an additional 84,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 584,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $616,465,000 after purchasing an additional 37,894 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.