Graco (NYSE:GGG) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Graco (NYSE:GGG) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on GGG. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.60.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $82.56. 1,086,309 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 672,190. Graco has a 1-year low of $69.78 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $91.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). Graco had a return on equity of 23.43% and a net margin of 23.15%. The business had revenue of $492.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $536.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Graco will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christian E. Rothe sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.04, for a total value of $1,350,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,303,493.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $122,760.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $501,336. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christian E. Rothe sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.04, for a total value of $1,350,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,583 shares in the company, valued at $2,303,493.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graco

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Davies Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Graco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $284,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Graco by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,078,000 after acquiring an additional 3,971 shares during the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. grew its position in Graco by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 25,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,382,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Harvey Investment Co. LLC grew its position in Graco by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Harvey Investment Co. LLC now owns 5,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Graco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,060,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.