Analysts Set Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) PT at $94.25

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $94.25.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In related news, Director Andrea Helen Simon acquired 1,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the director owned 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $99,857.20. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graco

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GGG. State Street Corp increased its stake in Graco by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,813,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $640,503,000 after acquiring an additional 242,817 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,652,241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $380,642,000 after acquiring an additional 261,126 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Graco by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,057,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $332,556,000 after purchasing an additional 206,949 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,076,887 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $176,016,000 after acquiring an additional 53,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $161,949,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

GGG opened at $75.22 on Friday. Graco has a fifty-two week low of $73.15 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69. The company’s 50-day moving average is $76.31 and its 200 day moving average is $83.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 2.42 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $540.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.35 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.96% and a return on equity of 18.66%. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Graco will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid 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 payout ratio is currently 38.44%.

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.