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

Key Points

• ING Groep NV boosted its W.W. Grainger stake by 104.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 12,164 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 23,853 shares valued at about $24.1 million.
• W.W. Grainger reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $11.65 topping estimates and revenue of $4.74 billion beating expectations; revenue rose 10.1% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $2.49 from $2.26, while analysts currently maintain a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $1,212.88.

ING Groep NV increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 104.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,853 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,164 shares during the period. ING Groep NV owned approximately 0.05% of W.W. Grainger worth $24,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. boosted its holdings 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 boosted its holdings 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 boosted its holdings 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 boosted its holdings 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. boosted its holdings 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. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.9%

GWW stock opened at $1,300.83 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,306.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,188.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,101.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.86 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $2.49 dividend. 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 0.8%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is 26.79%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 854 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 1,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,067.24. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total transaction of $1,658,048.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,745,625.48. The trade was a 12.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,212.88.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.

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