David J. Thompson Sells 3,216 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Stock

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares in the company, valued at $2,406,094.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG opened at $87.81 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.28. The firm has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a PE ratio of 31.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.82. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.28 and a twelve month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The business had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. Graco’s payout ratio is 36.04%.

Institutional Trading of Graco

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GGG. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Graco by 134.4% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,169,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $330,532,000 after acquiring an additional 2,390,602 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Graco by 244.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $174,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,704 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in Graco during the first quarter worth about $44,069,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the second quarter worth approximately $27,502,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Graco by 54.2% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 814,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $64,502,000 after buying an additional 286,212 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.