W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $959.44.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GWW shares. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com lowered W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Baird R W cut W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 29th.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $902.24 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. W.W. Grainger has a 52 week low of $674.41 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $928.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $926.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.61 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 39.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,691,289.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,167,913,000 after purchasing an additional 169,897 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 689,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $571,042,000 after acquiring an additional 11,460 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,411,000 after purchasing an additional 47,731 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $392,470,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 440,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $365,334,000 after purchasing an additional 10,940 shares in the last quarter. 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.