Graco (NYSE:GGG) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Key Points

• Graco's earnings for the quarter came in at $0.73 per share, missing analysts' expectations of $0.75 by $0.02.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275, which will be paid on November 5th, with an annualized yield of 1.3%.
• Graco has received a "Moderate Buy" rating from analysts, with an increased average target price of $94.50.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock traded down $2.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $81.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,104,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 790,455. The firm has a market cap of $13.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.07. Graco has a 1 year low of $72.06 and a 1 year high of $92.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.07.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Graco's payout ratio is 39.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GGG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graco

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Graco by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 330,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,592,000 after buying an additional 44,573 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 982.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 97.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,765 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Graco by 559.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 108,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,293,000 after purchasing an additional 91,708 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 21,289 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,830,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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