W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on GWW. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE GWW traded down $9.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $1,081.55. 325,244 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 234,841. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market cap of $52.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,150.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,026.14. W.W. Grainger has a one year low of $800.97 and a one year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 38.94 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,398 shares of company stock valued at $25,116,181. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at $281,104,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $906,700,000 after purchasing an additional 87,189 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 563.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,232,000 after purchasing an additional 61,400 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 67.9% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 143,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $129,175,000 after purchasing an additional 57,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth about $55,815,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.