Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Cuts Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund trimmed its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 94 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth $281,104,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,148,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,167,913,000 after buying an additional 169,897 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter worth about $159,365,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 92,754.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 87,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $906,700,000 after buying an additional 87,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 563.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,232,000 after acquiring an additional 61,400 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price for the company. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,086.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,178.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. The company has a market capitalization of $57.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,078.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $988.48. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $772.13 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.91 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.23%.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. The trade was a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.