JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Stock

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the industrial products company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target points to a potential upside of 3.76% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on GWW. William Blair raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,123.13.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of GWW stock traded up $3.16 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $1,084.22. 32,280 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 253,187. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $1,018.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,062.31. W.W. Grainger has a 52-week low of $874.98 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 52.43%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.62 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,205,523.20. The trade was a 10.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 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 Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently 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.