W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Price Target Raised to $1,125.00

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,058.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE GWW opened at $1,105.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,035.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $971.90. W.W. Grainger has a one year low of $747.00 and a one year high of $1,130.01. The company has a market capitalization of $53.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.43 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 38.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,167,913,000 after purchasing an additional 169,897 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,841,000 after buying an additional 17,699 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at $281,104,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 243,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,849 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 193,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $201,413,000 after acquiring an additional 36,892 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.