W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Price Target Raised to $1,215.00

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $990.00 to $1,215.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on GWW. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,190.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.99 billion, a PE ratio of 32.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. W.W. Grainger has a 1 year low of $772.13 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,094.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $995.07.

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). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 38.92 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 0.69%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 22.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $281,104,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at about $159,365,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 87,189 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 563.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,232,000 after buying an additional 61,400 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 67.9% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 143,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $129,175,000 after acquiring an additional 57,894 shares during the last quarter. 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.