Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $95.00.

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

Institutional Trading of Graco

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC grew 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Field & Main Bank bought a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG stock opened at $81.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50-day moving average is $77.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.22. Graco has a fifty-two week low of $72.51 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69.

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. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The business had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Graco will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Graco’s payout ratio is 37.11%.

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.