Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $95.00.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GGG shares. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Graco from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of Graco stock opened at $80.82 on Friday. Graco has a one year low of $72.51 and a one year high of $95.69. The company has a market cap of $13.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $77.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.02.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.10. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The company had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $608.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Graco will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Comerica Bank raised its position in Graco by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 172,328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,126,000 after purchasing an additional 60,486 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake 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 valued at $45,605,000 after buying an additional 553,688 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 294.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 297,787 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,410,000 after buying an additional 222,279 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter worth about $3,157,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Graco by 87.7% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 721,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,092,000 after acquiring an additional 337,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.