W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,017.13.

GWW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Baird R W lowered W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on 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. Finally, Stephens upgraded W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock opened at $958.14 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger has a fifty-two week low of $674.41 and a fifty-two week high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.45, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $936.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $951.76.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 39.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total value of $467,667.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,255,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 36.4% during the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,176,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Silver Lake Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Silver Lake Advisory LLC now owns 2,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,419,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,905,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.