Oppenheimer Lowers W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) to Market Perform

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) was downgraded by analysts at Oppenheimer from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,030.70.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,125.32 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger has a 12-month low of $674.41 and a 12-month high of $1,128.52. The stock has a market cap of $55.22 billion, a PE ratio of 31.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,008.79 and a 200-day moving average of $964.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 38.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 170.0% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 225.0% in the first quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at $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.