Citigroup Inc. Lowers Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Citigroup Inc. lowered its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 23.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,696 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.10% of W.W. Grainger worth $52,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GWW. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 36.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1,201.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its position in W.W. Grainger by 576.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after buying an additional 4,737 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 280.4% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after buying an additional 1,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 72.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,034,000 after acquiring an additional 5,804 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,206.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,098.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $997.28. The stock has a market cap of $58.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 1-year low of $772.13 and a 1-year high of $1,227.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group assumed coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,109.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 in the last ninety days. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.