W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $1,130.01 and last traded at $1,113.70, with a volume of 61891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,099.34.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Loop Capital upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wolfe Research upgraded W.W. Grainger to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer cut W.W. Grainger from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,043.20.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 1.0 %

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 market capitalization of $54.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.67, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,033.22 and a 200-day moving average of $970.74.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 10.86%. The company’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.28 EPS. Analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,650,478.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optas LLC grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. CX Institutional increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 0.9% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 4.4% during the second quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.7% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.