Northcoast Research Initiates Coverage on W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW)

Equities research analysts at Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital increased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price for the company. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,043.20.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:GWW opened at $1,100.34 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,030.55 and its 200 day moving average is $969.76. W.W. Grainger has a 12-month low of $721.99 and a 12-month high of $1,129.92. The stock has a market cap of $53.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.38, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 38.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,281,004.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Austin Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth about $213,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.9% during the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Partners LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.6% in the third quarter. Geneva Partners LLC now owns 1,994 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,071,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 10.5% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,304 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,704,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 16.8% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,681,000 after purchasing an additional 371 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.