W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Price Target Lowered to $1,100.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) had its price target reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on GWW. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,148.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,047.05 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,115.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,066.53. The company has a market capitalization of $50.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.05, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.17. W.W. Grainger has a 1-year low of $874.98 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 41.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is 21.18%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.6% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 9,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,402,000 after buying an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 23.0% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 3,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,349,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 4,488 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,662,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. 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.