Kestra Investment Management LLC Invests $327,000 in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,617,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,679,911,000 after acquiring an additional 40,992 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 546,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $568,188,000 after purchasing an additional 42,866 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 360,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,841,000 after buying an additional 17,699 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 324,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,956,000 after buying an additional 12,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $295,714,000 after buying an additional 8,552 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE GWW opened at $1,193.99 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $794.00 and a 12 month high of $1,227.66. The company has a market capitalization of $58.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1,117.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,006.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given 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 (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This represents a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 value of $10,705,553.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares in the company, valued at $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,109.00.

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.