Graco’s (GGG) Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at DA Davidson

DA Davidson reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Graco (NYSE:GGG) in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $85.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on GGG. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research downgraded Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Graco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price target on Graco in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.00.

Graco Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:GGG opened at $80.41 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.62. Graco has a twelve month low of $72.51 and a twelve month high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.10. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The firm had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Graco will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GGG. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 398,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,652,000 after buying an additional 98,141 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in Graco by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 172,328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,126,000 after acquiring an additional 60,486 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Graco by 20,706.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 556,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,605,000 after acquiring an additional 553,688 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Graco by 294.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 297,787 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,410,000 after acquiring an additional 222,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter worth $3,157,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

About Graco

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco’s solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.