Graco (NYSE:GGG) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $73.14 and last traded at $73.3480, with a volume of 215147 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $75.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wolfe Research lowered Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.25.

Graco Stock Up 0.0%

The stock has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $75.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.29.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $540.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $561.35 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.96% and a return on equity of 18.66%. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 38.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other news, Director Andrea Helen Simon bought 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $80.53 per share, with a total value of $99,857.20. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $99,857.20. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graco

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 398,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,652,000 after purchasing an additional 98,141 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of Graco by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 172,328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,126,000 after purchasing an additional 60,486 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Graco by 40.5% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 45,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,869,000 after purchasing an additional 13,130 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth about $3,527,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Graco by 20,706.4% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

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.