Kestra Investment Management LLC Buys New Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWW. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GWW. Bank of America began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Loop Capital raised their target price on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group started 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 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,109.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 document filed 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 dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total transaction of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,193.99 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,117.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,006.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $794.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.