W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $1,116.97 and last traded at $1,116.97, with a volume of 49500 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,112.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on W.W. Grainger from $978.00 to $972.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,030.70.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $54.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. The company 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30.

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. The company 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.64%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,825,000 after purchasing an additional 2,958 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.1% during the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $431,000. 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.