Graco (NYSE:GGG) Price Target Raised to $97.00

Graco (NYSE:GGG) had its price target raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $93.00 to $97.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

GGG has been the subject of several other research reports. BNP Paribas raised shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.20.

Graco Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE GGG opened at $84.08 on Friday. Graco has a 52 week low of $77.49 and a 52 week high of $94.77. The company has a market capitalization of $14.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $87.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.09.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. Graco’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Graco will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, January 20th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This is an increase from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

Insider Activity at Graco

In related news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. This trade represents a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares in the company, 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in Graco by 6.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,458,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $652,736,000 after buying an additional 443,141 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 4.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,152,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $362,808,000 after acquiring an additional 188,579 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 244.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412,704 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,111,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,237,000 after purchasing an additional 43,923 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 32.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,069,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,775,000 after purchasing an additional 259,819 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

About Graco

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.