Graco (NYSE:GGG) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Graco (NYSE:GGG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on GGG. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday. 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, William Blair reissued a market perform rating on shares of Graco in a report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graco presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $88.25.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE GGG opened at $82.56 on Friday. Graco has a 52-week low of $69.78 and a 52-week high of $94.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.02. The stock has a market cap of $13.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.81.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.09). Graco had a return on equity of 23.01% and a net margin of 23.15%. The firm had revenue of $492.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $536.19 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Graco will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 35.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Graco news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $253,283.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 50,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,442,917.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,378 shares of company stock valued at $4,376,528 in the last quarter. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tobam increased its position in Graco by 2,330.8% during the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Graco during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

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.