CHICAGO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) announced today that its board of directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $1.62 per share, an increase of 6% from the dividend paid in March 2021. The dividend is payable on June 1, 2021, to shareholders of record on May 10, 2021. Grainger has delivered 50 consecutive years of increased dividends.

In addition, the board authorized the repurchase of up to 5 million shares of the company's outstanding common stock, replacing the company's existing repurchase program. The new repurchase program has no expiration date. Since the program's inception in 1984, Grainger has reduced the number of shares outstanding by more than 50%. As of December 31, 2020, the company had approximately 52.5 million shares of common stock outstanding.

"We are proud today to announce our 50^th year of consistent annual dividend increases. We remain committed to our capital allocation strategy which allows us to return value to shareholders through consistent increases in the dividend and share repurchases while continuing to invest in the business," said Grainger Chairman and CEO, DG Macpherson.

About Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc., with 2020 sales of $11.8 billion, is North America's leading broad line supplier of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products, with operations primarily in North America (N.A.), Japan and the United Kingdom (U.K.).

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SOURCE W.W. Grainger, Inc.

Grainger Achieves 50th Consecutive Year Of Dividend Increases; Raises Quarterly Dividend By 6%; Authorizes Repurchase Of Additional 5 Million Shares