Brokerages Set W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Price Target at $1,151.50

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,130.89.

A number of research firms have issued reports on GWW. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 3.2 %

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $972.85 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,017.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,076.46. The stock has a market cap of $46.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.20.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GWW. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 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.