Seaport Res Ptn Comments on Graco Inc.’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NYSE:GGG)

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) – Stock analysts at Seaport Res Ptn lowered their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for Graco in a research report issued on Sunday, April 28th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst W. Liptak now forecasts that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $0.74 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.77. The consensus estimate for Graco’s current full-year earnings is $3.06 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Graco’s Q3 2024 earnings at $0.80 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $3.03 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.69 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.82 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.94 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $3.33 EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. 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 cut shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.25.

Graco Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Graco stock opened at $80.32 on Tuesday. Graco has a 52-week low of $69.78 and a 52-week high of $94.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $90.75 and a 200 day moving average of $85.12. The company has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.81.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Graco by 298.9% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,992,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Graco by 19.4% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 68,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,991,000 after buying an additional 11,139 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Graco by 0.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 30,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,257,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Graco in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,217,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graco news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $253,283.55. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,442,917.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total value of $253,283.55. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,442,917.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total transaction of $122,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $501,336. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 35.17%.

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.