Analysts Set Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) PT at $89.25

Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $89.25.

Several research firms have issued reports on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,406,094.26. This represents a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graco

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Graco by 5.5% in the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 3.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 7.1% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 8.8% during the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 6.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $89.18 on Tuesday. Graco has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $94.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $84.94 and a 200 day moving average of $82.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.06 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.82.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The company had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.04%.

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.