Kinsale Capital Group Inc. Acquires 400 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Kinsale Capital Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. W.W. Grainger accounts for about 1.6% of Kinsale Capital Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Kinsale Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $9,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 1,462.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,081,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,237 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $518,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 34,269.9% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 435,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,407,000 after purchasing an additional 434,199 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 61.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,027,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,584,000 after purchasing an additional 389,589 shares during the period. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $239,597,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total value of $385,518.97. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $491,444.31. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,231.06, for a total value of $1,051,325.24. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,624 shares of company stock worth $3,232,291. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,171.00 to $1,166.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stephens lowered W.W. Grainger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $1,355.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,230.11.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of GWW opened at $1,392.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.46, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $906.52 and a one year high of $1,419.91. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,312.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,178.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.44. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 47.87% and a net margin of 9.70%.The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.86 EPS. The business’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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $2.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.79%.

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.