Short Interest in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Rises By 51.5%

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) saw a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,060,000 shares, an increase of 51.5% from the October 31st total of 1,360,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 778,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Graco Stock Up 0.6 %

Graco stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $91.08. The company had a trading volume of 379,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 909,996. Graco has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $86.53 and a 200 day moving average of $83.00. The stock has a market cap of $15.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on GGG shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Graco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $1,604,337.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. This trade represents a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,818 shares of company stock valued at $2,026,230 in the last three months. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Graco

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Graco by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 119,708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,413,000 after purchasing an additional 32,475 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Graco by 0.9% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 47,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,151,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 7.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 12,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 2.9% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $979,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the third quarter worth about $663,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.