Shares of W.W. Grainger Inc. rallied 1.9% in morning trading Wednesday, after the supplier of maintenance, repair and operating products said it was raising its dividend by 6.2%. The company’s new quarterly dividend of $1.72 a share, up from $1.62 a share, will be payable June 1 to shareholders of record on May 9. Based on current stock prices, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 1.37%, which compares with the implied yield for the S&P 500 of 1.51%. W.W. Grainger’s stock has slipped 3.3% year to date, while the S&P 500 has dropped 11.6%.
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