JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Price Target to $1,015.00

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its price objective upped by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 6.53% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on GWW. Stephens raised shares of W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Baird R W cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,017.13.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of GWW traded up $10.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $952.79. 361,133 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 247,104. The company has a market cap of $46.75 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger has a 52 week low of $674.41 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $925.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $943.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.28 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 39.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total transaction of $467,667.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,691,289.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 3,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,419,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Privium Fund Management UK Ltd acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at about $428,000. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at about $1,113,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 15.5% in the second quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,313,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.