Graco (NYSE:GGG) Upgraded by BNP Paribas to “Outperform” Rating

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Graco (NYSE:GGG) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $105.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.40.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE GGG opened at $84.75 on Thursday. Graco has a one year low of $77.49 and a one year high of $94.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.21 and a 200 day moving average of $83.66. The company has a market capitalization of $14.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.95, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.83.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The business’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Graco will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, January 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This is an increase from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $575,572.20. The trade was a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,217,918.84. This represents a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graco

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GGG. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Graco by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,458,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $652,736,000 after buying an additional 443,141 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Graco by 4.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,152,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $362,808,000 after purchasing an additional 188,579 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,732,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $137,361,000 after purchasing an additional 91,794 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Graco by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,111,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,237,000 after purchasing an additional 43,923 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

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.