Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 195 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 195 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GWW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth about $281,104,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 92,754.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 87,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $906,700,000 after purchasing an additional 87,189 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 563.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,232,000 after purchasing an additional 61,400 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in W.W. Grainger by 67.9% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 143,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $129,175,000 after purchasing an additional 57,894 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth approximately $55,815,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price on the stock. One research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,109.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total value of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % 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 27,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 19.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of GWW stock opened at $1,142.62 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,144.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,021.47. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $800.97 and a 1 year high of $1,227.66. The company has a market cap of $55.65 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.94 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

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.