Graco (NYSE:GGG) EVP Angela Wordell Sells 2,832 Shares of Stock

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) EVP Angela Wordell sold 2,832 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.22, for a total transaction of $263,999.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,419.20. This represents a 17.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $92.72 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $85.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.12. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.06 and a 1-year high of $93.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.08.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.77. The business had revenue of $593.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $591.99 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 19.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 19th were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. 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 is currently 38.19%.

Graco announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback 15,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on GGG. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price objective on Graco in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.50.

Institutional Trading of Graco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 432.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 85,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,263,000 after purchasing an additional 69,573 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Graco by 154.2% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 64,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,466,000 after purchasing an additional 39,031 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,458,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $208,908,000 after buying an additional 75,285 shares during the period. Addenda Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,837,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Graco by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 81,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,899,000 after buying an additional 12,575 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.