Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Director Sells $2,317,719.60 in Stock

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Director Sant R. William Van sold 30,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.08, for a total value of $2,317,719.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $75.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.17 and a 1 year high of $87.94. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.30.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $559.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $576.14 million. Graco had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 23.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Silicon Valley Capital Partners bought a new stake in Graco during the first quarter worth $25,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Graco during the first quarter worth $27,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Graco by 52.5% during the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its stake in Graco by 569.7% during the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Graco during the second quarter worth $35,000. 84.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Graco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.00.

About Graco

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The company's Industrial segment offers proportioning systems to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; equipment that pumps, meters, mixes and dispenses sealant, adhesive, and composite materials; and gel-coat equipment, chop and wet-out systems, resin transfer molding systems and applicators, and precision dispensing solutions.