Peter J. O’shea Sells 18,075 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Stock

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at $1,288,440.16. This represents a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Graco Stock Up 0.7 %

Graco stock opened at $90.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $85.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.55. The company has a market capitalization of $15.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.82. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.49 and a 52 week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graco

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 671.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Graco by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 17,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,673,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 77,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,242,000 after buying an additional 3,171 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,954,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 28.5% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 8,159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $763,000 after acquiring an additional 1,812 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Company Profile

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.