Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Stock Has Average Target Price of $95.00 According to Brokerages

Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $95.00.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded 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 upped their target price on shares of Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th.

Graco Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE GGG opened at $78.22 on Monday. Graco has a 12 month low of $72.51 and a 12 month high of $95.69. The stock has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $79.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.74.

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

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 19th will be paid a $0.2950 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 19th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 37.11%.

Institutional Trading of Graco

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Graco in the second quarter worth about $16,632,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Graco during the second quarter valued at approximately $100,157,000. Amundi raised its position in Graco by 7.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 2,090,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $158,039,000 after purchasing an additional 146,032 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $57,954,000. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,051,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc is a Minneapolis-based manufacturer of equipment used to manage, measure, control and apply fluids and coatings. Its products are used in industrial, commercial and residential applications, including fluid handling, lubrication, dispensing, sealing, bonding, painting and corrosion protection.

The company’s product portfolio includes pumps, valves, meters, regulators, controls, proportioning systems and spray equipment. Graco also supplies equipment for paint and texture application, protective coatings, sealants and adhesives, vehicle servicing, and the automated lubrication of machinery.