Graco (NYSE:GGG) Given New $97.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Graco (NYSE:GGG) had its target price lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $93.00 to $97.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on GGG. BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.20.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG stock opened at $84.08 on Friday. Graco has a fifty-two week low of $77.49 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $87.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.04.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Graco will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total transaction of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. This trade represents a 10.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150 over the last 90 days. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GGG. State Street Corp increased its stake in Graco by 6.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,458,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $652,736,000 after purchasing an additional 443,141 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 4.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 244.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,210,000 after buying an additional 1,412,704 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in 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 worth $97,237,000 after buying an additional 43,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Graco by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,069,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,775,000 after buying an additional 259,819 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Graco

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.