W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 10th

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of 2.05 per share by the industrial products company on Saturday, June 1st. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86.

W.W. Grainger has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 53 consecutive years. W.W. Grainger has a payout ratio of 17.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect W.W. Grainger to earn $43.23 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.2%.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $947.84 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $980.09 and its 200-day moving average is $872.58. The firm has a market cap of $46.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.14. W.W. Grainger has a 12-month low of $641.95 and a 12-month high of $1,034.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $8.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.05 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 56.54%. W.W. Grainger’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that W.W. Grainger will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GWW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $740.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $775.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Loop Capital cut shares of W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $925.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $809.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $913.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $950.22, for a total value of $2,966,586.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,629.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Paige K. Robbins sold 3,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.88, for a total transaction of $3,694,339.44. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,756,231.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.