Graco (NYSE:GGG) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03), Zacks reports. Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.00%. The firm had revenue of $571.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $590.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Graco Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of GGG traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $84.54. 1,292,341 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 837,762. Graco has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $92.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.06. The business's 50 day moving average is $85.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.11.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Graco in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total transaction of $309,393.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Graco stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 982.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 498 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 452 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Graco were worth $42,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.