W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Receives $1,109.00 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,109.00.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $1,280.00 target price on the stock. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW stock traded down $28.98 on Wednesday, reaching $1,091.33. The company had a trading volume of 337,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,463. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.15 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business's 50-day moving average is $1,148.62 and its 200 day moving average is $1,025.29. W.W. Grainger has a one year low of $800.97 and a one year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 38.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger's payout ratio is 22.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,398 shares of company stock valued at $25,116,181 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GWW. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 111.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth about $75,000. Hedge funds and other 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.