Today's noteworthy downgrades include: AES Corp. (AES) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus... Allete (ALE) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Wunderlich... Associated British Foods (ASBFY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg... BorgWarner (BWA) downgraded to Underweight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley... C1 Financial (BNK) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette... Cameron (CAM) downgraded to Neutral at Susquehanna... Carpenter Technology (CRS) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan... CenterPoint Energy (CNP) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman... Compass Minerals (CMP) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Monness Crespi... Consolidated Edison (ED) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman... Diamond Foods (DMND) downgraded to Hold from Buy at BB&T... Ecolab (ECL) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank... Gazprom (OGZPY) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman... Grainger (GWW) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Stephens... Great Plains Energy (GXP) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman... Intrepid Potash (IPI) downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform at Scotia... Ixia (XXIA) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Wunderlich... Joy Global (JOY) downgraded to Underweight from Hold at BB&T... Novatek (NOVKY) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman... Oracle (ORCL) downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at Pacific Crest... PPL Corp. (PPL) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman... Pinnacle West (PNW) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman... Quanta Services (PWR) downgraded to Accumulate from Buy at Johnson Rice... Seagate (STX) downgraded to Neutral at Susquehanna... Silver Bay Realty (SBY) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA/Merrill... Smith Micro (SMSI) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Needham... SouFun (SFUN) downgraded to Outperform due to recent share strength at CLSA... Telefonica (TEF) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse... Ubiquiti Networks (UBNT) downgraded on solar, wireless outlook at JMP Securities... Urban Outfitters (URBN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Wunderlich... WD-40 (WDFC) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley... Waddell & Reed (WDR) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair... Zafgen (ZFGN) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at JMP Securities... Zurich Insurance (ZURVY) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays.

Meeting to be held in Canada on April 30 hosted by Mizuho.

Loop Capital analyst Chris Kapsch upgraded Compass Minerals to Buy from Hold with a price target of $23, down from $26.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists. 1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

W.W. Grainger's board of directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $2.05 per share, an increase of 10% from the most recent company dividend of $1.86 per share. The dividend is payable on June 1, to shareholders of record on May 13. In addition, the board approved the repurchase of up to 5M shares of the company's outstanding common stock, replacing the company's existing repurchase authorization. The new repurchase authorization has no expiration date. "2024 is on track to be our 53rd consecutive year of increased dividends, upholding Grainger's long-standing commitment to our shareholders. This increase, together with our updated share repurchase authorization, reinforces our ability to continue investing in the business while also returning excess cash to shareholders," said D.G. Macpherson, Grainger CEO.

Vertex (VERX) announced that it has been selected to join the Oracle Independent Software Vendor, ISV, Accelerator for SaaS Initiative. With expertise in Oracle (ORCL) Cloud Fusion Cloud Applications integrations, Vertex continues to leverage the power of contract and tax data to optimize customer operations and outcomes. "Building on our longstanding relationship with Oracle, we are thrilled to join the Oracle ISV Accelerator," said Bradd Wildstein, Vice President, Indirect Sales at Vertex, Inc. "Through this partnership, Vertex can now enhance our customers' finance and sales processes by integrating essential tax solutions into Oracle Fusion Applications. It's more than just data integration - it's about unifying disparate functions, streamlining operations, and amplifying benefits for our mutual customers."

Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison said the company is moving its world headquarters to Nashville, Tennessee, Ashley Capoot of CNBC reports. Ellison said Oracle is moving to a "huge campus" and it is closer to "the center of the industry we're most concerned about, which is the health-care industry." Reference Link