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

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 30th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid 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 yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th.

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 every year for the last 54 years. W.W. Grainger has a dividend payout ratio of 19.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect W.W. Grainger to earn $42.04 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 Trading Up 6.5 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,195.10 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1,045.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $975.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.20 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger has a 52-week low of $764.13 and a 52-week high of $1,199.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.43 EPS. On average, analysts expect that W.W. Grainger will post 38.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other W.W. Grainger news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,198 shares of company stock worth $41,784,426 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,058.50.

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.