Brokerages Set Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Target Price at $91.50

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three 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 price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $93.00.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GGG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

Insider Activity

In other Graco news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,217,918.84. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,572.20. This represents a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Graco

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Graco by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 18,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Graco by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 26,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,213,000 after buying an additional 2,829 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $241,000. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 890,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $75,060,000 after buying an additional 14,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Novem Group acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $746,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $86.07 on Thursday. Graco has a 1-year low of $77.49 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.99. The stock has a market cap of $14.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. On average, equities analysts expect that Graco will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

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.