W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Increases Dividend to $2.05 Per Share

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid 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 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86.

W.W. Grainger has increased its dividend payment by an average of 7.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 54 consecutive years. W.W. Grainger has a payout ratio of 18.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect W.W. Grainger to earn $43.29 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $8.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.9%.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $948.92 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger has a 52-week low of $641.95 and a 52-week high of $1,034.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.56 billion, a PE ratio of 26.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $976.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $887.09.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $9.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.57 by $0.05. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 54.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.61 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 39.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other W.W. Grainger news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,756,231.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GWW shares. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $975.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $938.89.

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.