Northcoast Research Initiates Coverage on W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW)

Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) in a report issued on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on GWW. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America initiated 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 target for the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,058.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.4 %

GWW stock opened at $1,105.07 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,035.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $971.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $53.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger has a 52 week low of $747.00 and a 52 week high of $1,130.01.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 38.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.50%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth approximately $281,104,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.4% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,167,913,000 after buying an additional 169,897 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter worth about $159,365,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 92,754.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 87,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $906,700,000 after purchasing an additional 87,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 563.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,232,000 after purchasing an additional 61,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

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.