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

Graco (NYSE:GGG) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.60.

Graco Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GGG traded down $0.57 on Friday, hitting $82.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,086,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 672,190. Graco has a 52-week low of $69.78 and a 52-week high of $94.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $91.14 and a 200 day moving average of $84.84. The company has a market cap of $13.91 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.43%. The company had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Graco will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.82, for a total transaction of $232,050.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,481,535.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528 in the last three months. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graco

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GGG. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Graco by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Graco by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 147,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,758,000 after purchasing an additional 28,589 shares in the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI grew its stake in Graco by 179.4% during the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 77,867 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,756,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,026,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,112,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.