Graco (NYSE:GGG) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Graco (NYSE:GGG) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.25.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $82.56 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $91.03 and its 200-day moving average is $84.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.81. Graco has a 12-month low of $69.78 and a 12-month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 23.01% and a net margin of 23.15%. The business’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Graco will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $253,283.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,442,917.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Graco news, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $122,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,697 shares in the company, valued at $501,336. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $253,283.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 50,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,442,917.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Graco

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tobam lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 2,330.8% in the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors.