Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $94.25.

GGG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings cut Graco from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, April 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Andrea Helen Simon bought 1,240 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $80.53 per share, with a total value of $99,857.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $99,857.20. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graco

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 398,336 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,652,000 after buying an additional 98,141 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Graco by 432.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 85,654 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,263,000 after buying an additional 69,573 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Graco by 154.2% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 64,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,466,000 after buying an additional 39,031 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG raised its holdings in Graco by 191.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 8,809 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 5,790 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in Graco by 40.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 45,544 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,869,000 after acquiring an additional 13,130 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG stock opened at $78.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.96. Graco has a 52-week low of $77.70 and a 52-week high of $95.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.39.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $540.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.35 million. Graco had a return on equity of 18.66% and a net margin of 22.96%.Graco's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th were given a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 13th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. 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.

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