Graco’s (GGG) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at DA Davidson

DA Davidson reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Graco (NYSE:GGG) in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $85.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GGG. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Graco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wolfe Research lowered Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price objective on Graco in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $81.02 on Monday. Graco has a fifty-two week low of $72.51 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69. The stock has a market cap of $13.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.48, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.58.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.06 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Graco will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.11%.

Institutional Trading of Graco

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 2,650.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 78.6% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 2,540.0% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Field & Main Bank bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

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.