ING Groep NV Buys 12,164 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

ING Groep NV lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 104.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 12,164 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $24,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total transaction of $1,051,325.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,913,067.24. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total transaction of $1,795,446.53. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,471.28. This trade represents a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743 over the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,300.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $61.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.99, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,188.64 and a 200-day moving average of $1,101.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $906.52 and a 1-year high of $1,306.51.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 47.87%. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $2.49 per share. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 26.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on GWW. Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,170.00 to $1,337.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,212.88.

W.W. Grainger Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc (NYSE: GWW) is an industrial supply distributor founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services to businesses, institutions and government customers. Over its long history Grainger has developed a broad product assortment and a national distribution network that supports operations across a range of end markets, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, transportation and public sector organizations.

Grainger’s product portfolio spans core categories such as electrical and lighting, safety and personal protective equipment, material handling, motors and power transmission, plumbing and HVAC, fasteners and adhesives, hand and power tools, and janitorial and facility supplies.