W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Price Target Cut to $1,100.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its price target cut by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 5.08% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on GWW. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Bank of America began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of GWW traded down $15.90 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $1,046.77. The stock had a trading volume of 221,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,688. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,118.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,065.90. W.W. Grainger has a one year low of $874.98 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market cap of $50.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 41.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GWW. Avestar Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Busey Bank raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $648,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 11 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.