Graco (NYSE:GGG) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.09), Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $536.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.07% and a return on equity of 24.61%. Graco's quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share.

Graco Trading Down 7.0 %

GGG stock traded down $6.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $83.12. 1,665,145 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 666,216. The company has a market cap of $14.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81. The stock's fifty day moving average is $91.25 and its 200-day moving average is $84.85. Graco has a 52-week low of $68.78 and a 52-week high of $94.77.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jody H. Feragen sold 5,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total transaction of $464,772.44. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 44,903 shares in the company, valued at $4,144,097.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528 over the last ninety days. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GGG shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Graco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.80.

About Graco

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.