Graco (NYSE:GGG) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Graco (NYSE:GGG) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.09), Briefing.com reports. Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.43%. The company had revenue of $492.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $83.02. 175,803 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 660,694. The firm has a market cap of $13.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.85. Graco has a 1-year low of $69.78 and a 1-year high of $94.77.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GGG has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graco news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $253,283.55. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,442,917.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $122,760.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,697 shares in the company, valued at $501,336. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $253,283.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,442,917.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

About Graco

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.