W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $2.05

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of 2.05 per share by the industrial products company on Saturday, June 1st. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86.

W.W. Grainger has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 53 years. W.W. Grainger has a dividend payout ratio of 17.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect W.W. Grainger to earn $43.23 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.2%.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW stock opened at $947.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $980.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $872.58. The company has a market capitalization of $46.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.14. W.W. Grainger has a 1-year low of $641.95 and a 1-year high of $1,034.18.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 56.54% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 39.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on GWW. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $800.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $913.89.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total transaction of $2,966,586.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About W.W. Grainger

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.