Analysts Set Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Price Target at $96.50

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $96.50.

GGG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Wednesday. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Graco by 432.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 85,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,263,000 after purchasing an additional 69,573 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 154.2% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 64,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,466,000 after acquiring an additional 39,031 shares during the period. Addenda Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,837,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Graco by 18.3% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 81,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,899,000 after purchasing an additional 12,575 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Graco in the third quarter worth $2,477,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of GGG stock opened at $87.25 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $84.24 and its 200 day moving average is $83.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.09. Graco has a 12 month low of $72.06 and a 12 month high of $89.67.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77. The business had revenue of $593.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $591.99 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 19.49%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. Graco’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Graco will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Investors of record on Monday, January 19th will be given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.19%.

Graco announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase 15,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Graco Company Profile

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.