Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Price Target to $1,007.00

Key Points

• Royal Bank Of Canada has decreased the price target for W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.83% from its current stock price.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target for W.W. Grainger to $1,125.00, while Morgan Stanley lowered theirs to $1,160.00, reflecting varied outlooks from different analysts.
• W.W. Grainger reported earnings of $9.97 per share, missing analysts' expectations, but saw a 5.6% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by Royal Bank Of Canada from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "sector perform" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target would indicate a potential upside of 7.83% from the stock's current price.

GWW has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,099.13.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW stock traded up $1.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $933.85. 61,475 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 285,209. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,051.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,033.62. W.W. Grainger has a 12 month low of $893.99 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $10.07 by ($0.10). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.63% and a net margin of 10.99%. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.76 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total value of $301,056.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 486 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,139 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 52.6% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 50.0% during the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 30 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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