Graco (NYSE:GGG) Insider Timothy White Sells 1,469 Shares

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) insider Timothy White sold 1,469 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total transaction of $133,238.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,701. The trade was a 2.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG stock opened at $92.90 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.06 and a 52-week high of $93.77. The company has a market capitalization of $15.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.07, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $85.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.11.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. The company had revenue of $593.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $591.99 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 19.49%. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase 15,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 19th were paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.19%.

Institutional Trading of Graco

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Graco during the second quarter worth approximately $170,661,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 236.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,279,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,711,000 after acquiring an additional 899,174 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 20,706.4% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 556,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,605,000 after acquiring an additional 553,688 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 116.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 735,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,201,000 after purchasing an additional 396,125 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in Graco by 877.5% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 334,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,300,000 after purchasing an additional 300,682 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GGG shares. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.50.

About Graco

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco’s solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.