Credit Suisse analyst Andrew Buscaglia downgraded Grainger (GWW) to Underperform from Neutral and lowered its price target to $175 from $235 telling investors he sees more uncertainty around its pricing strategy for its highest margin mid-sized customers and continued gross margin declines in 2018 that will weigh on shares. Buscaglia believes Grainger is the most susceptible to the Amazon (AMZN) threat as evidenced by its pricing actions to its more profitable smaller-medium sized customers and said its move online makes it more susceptible to competitive pricing.

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.