Brokerages Set W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Target Price at $1,123.13

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,123.13.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research downgraded 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, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This trade represents a 56.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total value of $301,056.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $2,255,320. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Bancreek Capital Management LP bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,687,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 29.2% in 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 buying an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 2,188 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,306,000 after buying an additional 872 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 694.1% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 76,674 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $80,818,000 after buying an additional 67,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Puff Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $280,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.7%

GWW traded down $7.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $1,077.99. 166,287 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 250,036. W.W. Grainger has a 1-year low of $888.75 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market cap of $51.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.21. 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 $1,035.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,054.74.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.62 EPS. W.W. Grainger's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.21%.

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.