Bank of New York Mellon Corp Reduces Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 271,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,281 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.57% of W.W. Grainger worth $258,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,627,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,853,714,000 after acquiring an additional 238,895 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,982,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,062,041,000 after purchasing an additional 8,735 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,260,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,306,289,000 after purchasing an additional 23,418 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at $721,202,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the second quarter worth $536,916,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,081.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.45 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $893.99 and a 12 month high of $1,130.61. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,014.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $992.40.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $0.26. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.40% and a net margin of 9.75%.The company had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.87 EPS. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $2.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is currently 25.35%.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.57, for a total transaction of $11,829,368.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,885 shares in the company, valued at $101,035,434.45. This represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,881 shares of company stock valued at $26,157,155. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,250.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,045.75.

W.W. Grainger 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.