Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Receives $84.80 Average PT from Analysts

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $88.25.

GGG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total transaction of $122,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $501,336. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 8,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Graco by 298.9% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at $213,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 20,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,496,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC bought a new position in Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,992,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

GGG opened at $82.56 on Friday. Graco has a fifty-two week low of $69.78 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $91.03 and its 200 day moving average is $85.02.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 35.17%.

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 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.