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

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 251,304 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,131 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.53% of W.W. Grainger worth $253,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 211.1% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 28 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 314.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. State of Wyoming raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 650.0% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,231.69, for a total transaction of $385,518.97. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $491,444.31. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 1,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,232.29, for a total value of $1,795,446.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,232 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,471.28. The trade was a 39.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,451 shares of company stock worth $7,380,743. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,300.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,047.00 to $1,171.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted 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 report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,212.88.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,290.79 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,184.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,099.83. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $906.52 and a 52-week high of $1,300.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.94 billion, a PE ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.04.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.86 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’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. Analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 45.34 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

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

About W.W. Grainger

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.