Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG – Free Report) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lowered their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Graco in a report issued on Tuesday, July 11th. Zacks Research analyst S. Roy now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $0.77 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.78. The consensus estimate for Graco’s current full-year earnings is $3.06 per share.
Several other brokerages have also issued reports on GGG. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Graco from $75.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Graco from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Graco from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, June 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.33.
Graco Stock Performance
Graco (NYSE:GGG – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.13. Graco had a return on equity of 26.12% and a net margin of 22.44%. The company had revenue of $529.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $501.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. Graco’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graco
Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 10.0% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 16,868,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,231,577,000 after buying an additional 1,538,176 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Graco by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,619,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $556,330,000 after purchasing an additional 878,009 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Graco by 102,901.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,793,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $322,424,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789,042 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Graco by 156.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,453,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $299,520,000 after acquiring an additional 2,718,018 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Graco by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,846,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $191,458,000 after acquiring an additional 80,199 shares during the period. 87.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insider Activity
In other Graco news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.77, for a total value of $228,879.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,304,790.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Graco news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.77, for a total value of $228,879.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,304,790.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Claudio Merengo sold 21,793 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.32, for a total value of $1,750,413.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,468,731.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 67,358 shares of company stock valued at $5,367,802. Company insiders own 2.98% of the company’s stock.
Graco Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 17th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 14th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Graco’s payout ratio is 33.10%.
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 company's Industrial segment offers proportioning systems to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; equipment that pumps, meters, mixes and dispenses sealant, adhesive, and composite materials; and gel-coat equipment, chop and wet-out systems, resin transfer molding systems and applicators, and precision dispensing solutions.
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