Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 179 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $3,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 170.0% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 275.0% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matt Fortin sold 511 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.20, for a total value of $467,667.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,691,289.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of GWW stock traded up $16.19 on Friday, reaching $970.34. 213,314 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 251,067. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52 week low of $674.41 and a 52 week high of $1,034.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $924.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $941.80.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 54.31% and a net margin of 10.94%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.61 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 39.19 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GWW shares. Robert W. Baird cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $975.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Stephens raised W.W. Grainger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $959.44.

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.