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

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $94.25.

GGG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report 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 research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th.

Graco Price Performance

GGG opened at $73.87 on Tuesday. Graco has a 1-year low of $73.56 and a 1-year high of $95.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.69. The firm has a market cap of $12.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other Graco news, Director Andrea Helen Simon bought 1,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $80.53 per share, for a total transaction of $99,857.20. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,857.20. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Graco

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,813,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $640,503,000 after buying an additional 242,817 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,652,241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $380,642,000 after purchasing an additional 261,126 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,057,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $332,556,000 after purchasing an additional 206,949 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,458,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $208,908,000 after purchasing an additional 75,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,076,887 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $176,016,000 after purchasing an additional 53,126 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.