Graco (NYSE:GGG) Issues Earnings Results

Graco (NYSE:GGG) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.09), Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $536.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 24.61% and a net margin of 23.07%. Graco’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.74 EPS.

Graco Stock Down 7.1 %

Shares of NYSE GGG traded down $6.31 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $83.04. The stock had a trading volume of 814,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 655,652. The business’s 50 day moving average is $91.23 and its 200-day moving average is $84.82. The company has a market cap of $13.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.54, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81. Graco has a 52 week low of $68.78 and a 52 week high of $94.77.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.80.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total value of $253,283.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,442,917.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $253,283.55. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,442,917.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528. Corporate insiders own 2.63% 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.