W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Price Target Cut to $975.00 by Analysts at Loop Capital

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its target price trimmed by Loop Capital from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on GWW. UBS Group increased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 research note on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stephens upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their target price for the company from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $938.89.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW opened at $934.57 on Monday. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $641.95 and a twelve month high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market cap of $45.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $979.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $877.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 39.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 20.54%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 275.0% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is 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.