W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on GWW. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Baird R W raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,092.96 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $53.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.16. W.W. Grainger has a 12-month low of $800.97 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,150.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,026.14.

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

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was 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 owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,398 shares of company stock valued at $25,116,181 over the last 90 days. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,074,702,000 after acquiring an additional 45,369 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,679,911,000 after purchasing an additional 40,992 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,208,610,000 after purchasing an additional 28,626 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $568,188,000 after purchasing an additional 42,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $324,841,000 after buying an additional 17,699 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.