W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE:GWW traded up $7.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $956.21. The company had a trading volume of 172,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 237,917. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $976.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $887.09. W.W. Grainger has a 52-week low of $641.95 and a 52-week high of $1,034.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $46.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 39.27 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at about $392,470,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,396,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $966,451,000 after purchasing an additional 204,507 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 625,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $432,411,000 after buying an additional 47,731 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 82,775.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,712,000 after buying an additional 43,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 240,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $199,595,000 after acquiring an additional 42,395 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.