Citigroup Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Citigroup Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 24,820 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $57,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,462,252,000 after buying an additional 104,607 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 0.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,982,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,062,041,000 after acquiring an additional 8,735 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the second 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 bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $721,202,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $536,916,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total transaction of $14,128,119.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,862 shares in the company, valued at $104,929,232.22. This trade represents a 11.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,249,953.82. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155 over the last 90 days. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.W. Grainger Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE GWW opened at $1,118.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $52.99 billion, a PE ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12 month low of $893.99 and a 12 month high of $1,218.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,074.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,007.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. W.W. Grainger’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.71 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio is 25.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on GWW. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Barclays increased 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. 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 research note on Monday, November 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,060.13.

W.W. Grainger Company 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.