Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give Graco a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy (4 buys, 3 holds) with an average 1‑year price target of $96.50, and several firms (RBC, Jefferies, Weiss) recently raised ratings/targets.
• Graco's latest quarter reported EPS of $0.77 (in line with estimates) and revenue of $593.16M (a 8.1% YoY increase and a slight beat), with sell‑side analysts forecasting about $3.06 EPS for the year.
• Insiders have sold 19,394 shares (~$1.74M) over the last 90 days and now own 2.18% of the stock, while institutional investors hold 93.88% of Graco.

Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $96.50.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GGG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Graco from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price target on Graco in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graco news, Director J Kevin Gilligan sold 12,870 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $1,146,330.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 1,469 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total value of $133,238.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,430 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,701. This represents a 2.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,739,326 over the last ninety days. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Graco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 15.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 330,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,592,000 after purchasing an additional 44,573 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 982.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Graco by 97.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,765 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Graco by 559.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 108,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,293,000 after acquiring an additional 91,708 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 21,289 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,830,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:GGG opened at $87.52 on Monday. Graco has a 1 year low of $75.91 and a 1 year high of $95.69. The stock has a market cap of $14.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $89.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.39.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. The company had revenue of $593.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $591.99 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 23.33%.Graco's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Graco will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Graco's dividend payout ratio is 38.19%.

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.

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