Robert W. Baird Has Lowered Expectations for Graco (NYSE:GGG) Stock Price

Graco (NYSE:GGG) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $96.00 to $92.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target indicates a potential upside of 11.81% from the company’s previous close.

GGG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.50.

Graco Stock Down 3.8%

NYSE GGG opened at $82.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $88.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.47. Graco has a twelve month low of $78.10 and a twelve month high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $540.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.35 million. Graco had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 22.96%.The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. Research analysts expect that Graco will post 3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graco news, insider Timothy R. White sold 1,469 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total transaction of $133,238.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,430 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,701. This represents a 2.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Angela F. Wordell sold 2,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.22, for a total value of $263,999.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,419.20. This trade represents a 17.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,394 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,326. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GGG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $161,949,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 1,636.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,011,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,888,000 after buying an additional 952,977 shares during the period. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 236.4% in the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,279,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,711,000 after buying an additional 899,174 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 20,706.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 556,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,605,000 after buying an additional 553,688 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 116.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 735,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,201,000 after buying an additional 396,125 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Graco

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco’s solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.