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

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 30th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of 2.05 per share by the industrial products company on Sunday, December 1st. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%.

W.W. Grainger has increased its dividend by an average of 7.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 54 consecutive years. W.W. Grainger has a dividend payout ratio of 19.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect W.W. Grainger to earn $42.12 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 19.5%.

W.W. Grainger Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of GWW stock traded up $10.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $1,108.38. 134,750 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 232,947. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,028.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $968.84. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $721.99 and a twelve month high of $1,129.92.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.58 by $0.18. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.28 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 38.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GWW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,043.20.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value 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 approximately $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

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.