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

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) announced 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 0.74%.

W.W. Grainger has increased 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 54 years. W.W. Grainger has a dividend payout ratio of 19.5% indicating that 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 Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock traded up $10.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $1,108.38. The stock had a trading volume of 134,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,947. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,028.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $968.84. W.W. Grainger has a 12-month low of $721.99 and a 12-month high of $1,129.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $54.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 53.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 38.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 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 owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America assumed 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 on the stock. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.