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. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%.

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 annually for the last 54 consecutive years. W.W. Grainger has a dividend payout ratio of 19.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 0.2 %

GWW stock opened at $1,100.34 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,030.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $969.76. W.W. Grainger has a 12 month low of $721.99 and a 12 month high of $1,129.92.

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

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total transaction of $13,481,538.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $990.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,043.20.

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.