Insider Selling: Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) EVP Sells $137,888.10 in Stock

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Graco Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of GGG stock opened at $91.08 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $86.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.95. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.82.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The company had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. Graco’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GGG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new stake in Graco during the second quarter worth $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Graco by 187.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Graco during the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.