Bank of New York Mellon Corp Lowers Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 251,304 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,131 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $253,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GWW. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 211.1% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 314.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 650.0% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,290.79 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,184.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,099.83. 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 1-year low of $906.52 and a 1-year high of $1,300.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.72, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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, research analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $2.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total transaction of $1,658,048.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,745,625.48. The trade was a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 399 shares in the company, valued at $491,444.31. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock valued at $7,380,743. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,190.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.