Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $93.20.

GGG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $84.08 on Wednesday. Graco has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $94.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $87.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.09. The stock has a market cap of $14.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.84.

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). The firm had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. Graco’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Graco will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,612 shares in the company, valued at $5,217,918.84. This trade represents a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the company’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 owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,406,094.26. This represents a 10.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graco

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Graco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Graco by 187.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Graco during the third quarter worth $59,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Graco by 60.4% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently 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.