W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Upgraded to Outperform at Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Robert W. Baird currently has $1,230.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $975.00.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on GWW. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,030.70.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,112.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1,002.92 and its 200-day moving average is $962.39. The stock has a market cap of $54.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.73, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger has a 52-week low of $674.41 and a 52-week high of $1,115.63.

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

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 36.6% during 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 buying an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $60,857,000 after buying an additional 6,042 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $5,655,000 after buying an additional 4,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,932 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.