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

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 29th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of 2.05 per share by the industrial products company on Saturday, March 1st. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%.

W.W. Grainger has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.8% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 35 years. W.W. Grainger has a payout ratio of 17.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect W.W. Grainger to earn $41.91 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 19.6%.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

W.W. Grainger stock opened at $1,113.89 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger has a 52-week low of $874.98 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $1,122.75 and a 200-day moving average of $1,063.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.19, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 38.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In related news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 9,577 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,117.84, for a total value of $10,705,553.68. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,895,021.36. This trade represents a 68.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total transaction of $150,753.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,070.25. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,140.56.

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.