Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Receives $94.25 Consensus PT from Analysts

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment 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 ratings on the stock in the last year is $94.25.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th.

Graco Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of GGG stock opened at $74.94 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $76.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.93. Graco has a 52-week low of $73.15 and a 52-week high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $540.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $561.35 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.96% and a return on equity of 18.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Graco will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 38.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, Director Andrea Helen Simon acquired 1,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $80.53 per share, for a total transaction of $99,857.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,857.20. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GGG. Ballast Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the 1st quarter worth approximately $74,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 26.4% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 288,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,406,000 after purchasing an additional 60,271 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 34.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 2,122 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 78.6% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the first quarter valued at $2,775,000. 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.