Robert W. Baird Trims Graco (NYSE:GGG) Target Price to $87.00

Graco (NYSE:GGG) had its target price cut by Robert W. Baird from $90.00 to $87.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Graco from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Graco currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $85.60.

Graco Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:GGG opened at $82.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $91.14 and its 200-day moving average is $84.84. Graco has a 1-year low of $69.78 and a 1-year high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $492.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $536.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 23.01% and a net margin of 23.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Graco will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 35.17%.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other Graco news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $253,283.55. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,442,917.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Graco news, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total transaction of $122,760.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $501,336. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total value of $253,283.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,442,917.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graco

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc raised its position in shares of Graco by 13.0% during the first quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 26,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,452,000 after purchasing an additional 3,020 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Graco by 5.2% during the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 360,264 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,670,000 after purchasing an additional 17,790 shares during the period. Davies Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the first quarter worth approximately $284,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Graco by 21.7% during the first quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,078,000 after purchasing an additional 3,971 shares during the period. Finally, Albert D Mason Inc. raised its position in shares of Graco by 0.9% during the first quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 25,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,382,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. 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.