Graco (NYSE:GGG) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Royal Bank Of Canada

Graco (NYSE:GGG) had its target price reduced by Royal Bank Of Canada from $96.00 to $95.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

GGG has been the topic of several other reports. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Graco from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.75.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock opened at $82.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.89. Graco has a fifty-two week low of $72.51 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $78.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.63.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $608.06 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Investors of record on Monday, October 19th will be paid a $0.2950 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 19th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graco

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the second quarter worth $1,396,470,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the second quarter valued at $141,667,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the second quarter valued at $100,157,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Graco during the 2nd quarter worth about $97,625,000. Finally, Port Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Graco during the 2nd quarter worth about $66,974,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

About Graco

Graco Inc is a Minneapolis-based manufacturer of equipment used to manage, measure, control and apply fluids and coatings. Its products are used in industrial, commercial and residential applications, including fluid handling, lubrication, dispensing, sealing, bonding, painting and corrosion protection.

The company’s product portfolio includes pumps, valves, meters, regulators, controls, proportioning systems and spray equipment. Graco also supplies equipment for paint and texture application, protective coatings, sealants and adhesives, vehicle servicing, and the automated lubrication of machinery.