Robert W. Baird Lowers Graco (NYSE:GGG) Price Target to $87.00

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $90.00 to $87.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Robert W. Baird's target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.38% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Graco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graco has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.60.

Graco Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of GGG traded down $0.57 on Friday, hitting $82.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,086,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 672,190. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $91.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.84. Graco has a fifty-two week low of $69.78 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.43%. The business had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $536.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. Graco's revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Graco will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Graco

In related news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total value of $253,283.55. Following the sale, the insider now owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,442,917.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total value of $253,283.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,442,917.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter worth $152,941,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Graco by 213.3% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,257,908 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $109,136,000 after buying an additional 856,460 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco in the first quarter worth $70,891,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Graco by 4.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,085,518 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,245,193,000 after purchasing an additional 726,245 shares during the period. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Graco by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,118,703 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $270,579,000 after purchasing an additional 498,724 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

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.