W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,120.00.

GWW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research lowered W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE GWW opened at $1,102.43 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. The stock's 50 day moving average is $1,000.69 and its 200 day moving average is $1,065.46. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.96 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company's revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.62 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total transaction of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bancreek Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth $3,687,000. Columbus Macro LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 484.2% during the 4th quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 5,830 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,145,000 after acquiring an additional 4,832 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,833 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,932,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 959 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter valued at about $399,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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