W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Upgraded by Baird R W to “Strong-Buy”

Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on GWW. Wolfe Research raised shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,030.70.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,112.93 on Wednesday. W.W. Grainger has a 1 year low of $674.41 and a 1 year high of $1,115.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,002.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $962.39. The stock has a market cap of $54.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.73, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 38.65 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.64%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 170.0% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth about $42,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.