Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 15,281 Shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,281 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were 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. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter worth about $721,202,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $536,916,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,627,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,853,714,000 after buying an additional 238,895 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 443,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $422,529,000 after buying an additional 140,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the third quarter valued at approximately $63,913,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total value of $199,666.35. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,953.82. The trade was a 5.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,163 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,885 shares in the company, valued at $101,035,434.45. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on GWW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,045.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,045.75.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,081.99 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1 year low of $893.99 and a 1 year high of $1,130.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,014.04 and a 200 day moving average of $992.40. The stock has a market cap of $51.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.12.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $0.26. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 49.40%. The business had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

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.