W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW Shares Bought by Kinsale Capital Group Inc.

Kinsale Capital Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger makes up approximately 1.6% of Kinsale Capital Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Kinsale Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $7,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 196.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 24 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 316.7% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 25 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.86, for a total transaction of $496,430.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,758,355.06. The trade was a 22.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $955.71 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $893.99 and a 12-month high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $45.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $973.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,014.62.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $0.26. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.63% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,061.57.

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.