Macquarie analyst Hamzah Mazari downgraded Grainger to Neutral and slashed its price target to $200 from $287 citing a loss in management creditability following a strategy change to re-price the portfolio faster, on short notice ahead of earnings, without lead time to make shareowners comfortable The analyst said increased transparency of pricing due to internet results will likely result in lower pricing through 2018 and visibility on higher pricing in 2019 remains low. Mazari also said the "fix" in Canada is not that easy and the company has less room to be aggressive around return on cash

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.