W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Declares Dividend Increase – $2.05 Per Share

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost 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% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 53 years. W.W. Grainger has a payout ratio of 17.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded down $32.99 during trading on Thursday, reaching $925.33. The stock had a trading volume of 80,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 229,717. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.88. W.W. Grainger has a 1-year low of $641.95 and a 1-year high of $1,034.18. The stock has a market cap of $45.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $980.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $872.05.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at W.W. Grainger

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Loop Capital downgraded W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $913.89.

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.