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

Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $95.00.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GGG shares. Wolfe Research cut shares of Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price objective on Graco in a report on Friday, July 24th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Graco from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th.

Institutional Trading of Graco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GGG. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 21,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 0.3% in the second quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,562,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 5.2% during the second quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Graco by 43.2% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $76.40 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $78.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.61. Graco has a 12 month low of $72.51 and a 12 month high of $95.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.92.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $590.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.06 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Graco will post 3.19 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 20th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 37.11%.

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.