Graco (NYSE:GGG) Price Target Raised to $96.00

Graco (NYSE:GGG) had its target price raised by Royal Bank Of Canada from $92.00 to $96.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 20.58% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wolfe Research lowered Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on Graco in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Graco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Graco Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of GGG stock traded up $1.86 on Friday, reaching $79.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 248,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,219,137. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.68. Graco has a 1 year low of $72.51 and a 1 year high of $95.69. The company has a market capitalization of $13.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.93.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.10. Graco had a net margin of 23.53% and a return on equity of 19.27%. The company had revenue of $590.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. Graco’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Graco will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graco news, Director Andrea Helen Simon bought 1,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $80.53 per share, for a total transaction of $99,857.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $99,857.20. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $161,949,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 1,636.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,011,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,888,000 after purchasing an additional 952,977 shares during the period. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 236.4% in the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,279,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,711,000 after purchasing an additional 899,174 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Graco by 20,706.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 556,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,605,000 after purchasing an additional 553,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Graco by 80.6% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 954,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,785,000 after purchasing an additional 426,001 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Company Profile

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.