Graco (NYSE:GGG) Director Acquires $99,857.20 in Stock

Key Points

• Director Andrea Helen Simon purchased 1,240 shares of Graco at an average price of $80.53 per share, a transaction valued at $99,857.20 that was disclosed in an SEC filing.
• Graco reported quarterly EPS of $0.66, missing consensus by $0.09, and revenue of $540.14 million versus an expected $561.35 million, with revenue up 2.2% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share (annualized $1.18, ~1.5% yield), with record and ex-dividend dates on April 13 and payment on May 6.

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) Director Andrea Helen Simon purchased 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were acquired 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 in the company, valued at $99,857.20. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Graco Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of GGG stock traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $80.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,752,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,066,843. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $78.87 and a one year high of $95.69. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $87.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.48.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.09). Graco had a net margin of 22.96% and a return on equity of 18.66%. The business had revenue of $540.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. Graco's revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. Graco's payout ratio is presently 38.44%.

Institutional Trading of Graco

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in Graco by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,813,877 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $640,503,000 after acquiring an additional 242,817 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Graco by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,652,241 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $380,642,000 after acquiring an additional 261,126 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Graco by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,057,036 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $332,556,000 after purchasing an additional 206,949 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Graco by 3.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,458,857 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $208,908,000 after purchasing an additional 75,285 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of Graco by 2.6% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,076,887 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $176,016,000 after purchasing an additional 53,126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GGG. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Graco from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.25.

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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