Brokerages Set W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Target Price at $938.89

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $938.89.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GWW. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Stephens upgraded W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $956.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $976.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $887.57. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $641.95 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.61 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 39.27 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. 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. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total value of $3,694,339.44. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its position 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. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 978,154 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $810,586,000 after acquiring an additional 12,445 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 751,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $520,163,000 after acquiring an additional 13,063 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 8.3% in the 3rd 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 period. 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.