Robert W. Baird Lowers Graco (NYSE:GGG) Price Target to $85.00

Graco (NYSE:GGG) had its target price decreased by Robert W. Baird from $88.00 to $85.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target points to a potential upside of 3.48% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Graco from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $82.14 on Friday. Graco has a fifty-two week low of $70.80 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The firm has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $83.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.65.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a net margin of 23.16% and a return on equity of 22.40%. The firm had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Graco will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graco

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in shares of Graco during the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 187.8% during the third 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. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 220.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam boosted its position in shares of Graco by 90.2% in the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% 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.