Graco (NYSE:GGG) Upgraded to "Outperform" at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Graco (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $105.00 price target on the industrial products company's stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on GGG. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Four investment 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, Graco has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.40.

Graco Price Performance

GGG stock traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $84.75. 824,143 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 742,719. Graco has a one year low of $77.49 and a one year high of $94.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $87.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.65.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Graco will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This is a boost from Graco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Graco's payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total transaction of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,217,918.84. This represents a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter J. O'shea sold 18,075 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at $1,288,440.16. The trade was a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Graco by 187.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Graco in the third quarter valued at about $59,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Graco by 220.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco in the third quarter worth about $67,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.