Kinsale Capital Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Kinsale Capital Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the quarter. W.W. Grainger comprises 1.6% of Kinsale Capital Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Kinsale Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $7,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 196.0% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 24 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 316.7% in the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 25 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. 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 research report on Monday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,061.57.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.3%

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $955.71 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $973.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,014.62. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $893.99 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.25, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,758,355.06. This represents a 22.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About W.W. Grainger

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.