Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Receives $89.25 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $89.25.

A number of analysts have weighed in on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th.

Graco Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE GGG opened at $87.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.08, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.83. Graco has a twelve month low of $77.49 and a twelve month high of $94.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.49.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The company had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Graco will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $137,888.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,572.20. This represents a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,406,094.26. The trade was a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150 in the last quarter. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graco

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Graco by 209.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,614,000 after purchasing an additional 18,931 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 63.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 6,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 2,616 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Graco by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Graco by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Graco by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,267,000 after purchasing an additional 10,549 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is 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.