W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Sold by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. decreased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,696 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $52,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optas LLC lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% during the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 4.4% in the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% in the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 1.0 %

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

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.43 EPS. Analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at $814,070.25. This represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,900 shares of company stock valued at $52,640,733. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,109.00.

W.W. Grainger 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.