Graco (NYSE:GGG) Upgraded to Outperform at BNP Paribas

Graco (NYSE:GGG) was upgraded by BNP Paribas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $105.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock. BNP Paribas’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 23.95% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.40.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG stock opened at $84.71 on Thursday. Graco has a 52 week low of $77.49 and a 52 week high of $94.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.93, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $87.21 and its 200-day moving average is $83.66.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. This trade represents a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. This trade represents a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Graco in the third quarter worth $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Graco by 187.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Graco during the third quarter worth about $59,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Graco by 220.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the third quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

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.