KBC Group NV Has $5.23 Million Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 21.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $5,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $175,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter valued at $453,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 61.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,596,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $966.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,123.13.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total value of $793,616.46. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $602,773.08. This represents a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total transaction of $301,056.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,622,348.80. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,036.78 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $888.75 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,059.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,040.32. The company has a market capitalization of $49.81 billion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.51 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.28% and a net margin of 11.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $2.26 dividend. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.21%.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.