Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Receives $96.50 Average PT from Analysts

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $96.50.

Several research firms have commented on GGG. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th.

Graco Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $85.27 on Monday. Graco has a 1 year low of $75.91 and a 1 year high of $95.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.44. The firm has a market cap of $14.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 23.33%.Graco’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, EVP Angela F. Wordell sold 2,832 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.22, for a total transaction of $263,999.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,245,419.20. This represents a 17.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 1,469 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total value of $133,238.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,701. This represents a 2.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,394 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,326. Corporate insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Graco by 15.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 330,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,592,000 after purchasing an additional 44,573 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Graco by 982.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 97.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Graco by 559.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 108,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,293,000 after purchasing an additional 91,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Graco by 4.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 21,289 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,830,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.