W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Price Target Raised to $1,215.00 at Morgan Stanley

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $990.00 to $1,215.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the industrial products company's stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on GWW. Bank of America started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,173.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 75,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,742. The company has a market cap of $57.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger has a fifty-two week low of $772.13 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. The business's 50 day moving average price is $1,082.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $990.71.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The business's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 38.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733 over the last quarter. Insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 24.8% during the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 588 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 3.3% in the first quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 822 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $836,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at about $95,000. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 35.5% during the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 2,556 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,600,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 83.1% in the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,865,000 after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

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.