W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Downgraded to “Market Perform” at Oppenheimer

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) was downgraded by analysts at Oppenheimer from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Briefing.com reports.

GWW has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded 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 issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,030.70.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,112.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $54.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.73, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,002.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $962.39. 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 has a twelve month low of $674.41 and a twelve month high of $1,115.63.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 38.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 10.0% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

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.