W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Receives $1,120.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,120.00.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GWW shares. Wolfe Research cut W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 133.6% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 31,159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,780,000 after buying an additional 17,819 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,816,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at approximately $306,000. Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 27.9% in the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at approximately $960,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock opened at $1,099.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. W.W. Grainger has a 12 month low of $874.98 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market cap of $52.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,003.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,064.86.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 23.21%.

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.