Timothy White Sells 1,469 Shares of Graco (NYSE:GGG) Stock

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) insider Timothy White sold 1,469 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,664,701. The trade was a 2.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $92.90 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.09. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $72.06 and a one year high of $93.77. The company has a market cap of $15.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.07, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.08.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. The business had revenue of $593.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $591.99 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 23.33%.The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase 15,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Graco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 19th were given a $0.295 dividend. This is a positive change from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 38.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GGG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graco

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Graco by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,571,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $643,237,000 after purchasing an additional 99,097 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Graco by 3.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,458,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $208,908,000 after buying an additional 75,285 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in Graco by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,076,887 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $176,016,000 after acquiring an additional 53,126 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Graco during the 2nd quarter worth about $170,661,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Graco by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,865,673 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $158,508,000 after acquiring an additional 14,764 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Company Profile

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.