KBC Group NV Has $4.97 Million Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

KBC Group NV trimmed its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 8.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,786 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 452 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $4,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GWW. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 38.9% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 50 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 537.5% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,086.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.2 %

GWW stock opened at $1,178.33 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,078.55 and a 200-day moving average of $988.96. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $772.13 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The company has a market capitalization of $57.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.43 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 22.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger 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.