Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 94 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at $41,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $570,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter valued at about $487,000. Cynosure Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter worth approximately $332,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 53.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GWW shares. Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research raised W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Baird R W upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,086.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,178.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $57.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $772.13 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $1,078.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $988.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.23%.

W.W. Grainger 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.