Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Graco Common Stock
Graco common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “GGG.” As of January 14, 2021 the share price was $75.00 and there were 168,767,073 shares outstanding and 1,799 common shareholders of record, which includes nominees or broker dealers holding stock on behalf of an estimated 113,700 beneficial owners.
The graph below compares the cumulative total shareholder return on the common stock of the Company for the last five fiscal years with the cumulative total return of the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones U.S. Industrial Machinery Index over the same period (assuming the value of the investment in Graco common stock and each index was $100 on December 31, 2015, and all dividends were reinvested).
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Dow Jones U.S. Industrial Machinery 100 136 181 155 211 245
S&P 500 100 112 136 130 171 203
Graco Inc. 100 115 191 176 226 320
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Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
On April 24, 2015, the Board of Directors authorized the purchase of up to 18 million shares of common stock, primarily through open market transactions. There were approximately 3.3 million shares remaining under the authorization on December 7, 2018, when the Board of Directors authorized the purchase of up to an additional 18 million shares. The authorizations are for an indefinite period of time or until terminated by the Board.
In addition to shares purchased under the Board authorization, the Company purchases shares of common stock held by employees who wish to tender owned shares to satisfy the exercise price or tax due upon exercise of stock options or vesting of restricted stock.
Information on issuer purchases of equity securities follows:
Period Total
Number
of Shares
Purchased Average Price
Paid per
Share Total Number of
Shares Purchased
as Part of Publicly
Announced Plans
or Programs Maximum Number
of Shares that May
Yet Be Purchased
Under the Plans
or Programs
(at end of period)
Sep 26, 2020 - Oct 24, 2020 — $ — — 18,517,834
Oct 25, 2020 - Nov 21, 2020 — $ — — 18,517,834
Nov 22, 2020 - Dec 25, 2020 — $ — — 18,517,834
Item 6. Selected Financial Data
The following table includes historical financial data (in millions, except per share amounts):
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Net sales $ 1,650.1 $ 1,646.0 $ 1,653.3 $ 1,474.7 $ 1,329.3
Net earnings 330.5 343.9 341.1 252.4 40.7
Per common share (1)
Basic net earnings $ 1.97 $ 2.06 $ 2.04 $ 1.50 $ 0.24
Diluted net earnings 1.92 2.00 1.97 1.45 0.24
Cash dividends declared 0.71 0.66 0.56 0.49 0.45
Total assets $ 1,988.1 $ 1,692.2 $ 1,472.7 $ 1,390.6 $ 1,243.1
Long-term debt (including current portion)
150.0 164.3 266.4 226.0 305.7
(1) All per share data reflects the three-for-one stock split distributed on December 27, 2017.
Net earnings in 2020 included $34 million of after-tax loss from impairment charges related to the divestiture of the Company's U.K.-based valve business.
The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduced the Company’s 2018 effective income tax rate by approximately 10 percentage points.
Net earnings in 2016 included $161 million of after-tax loss from impairment charges in the Company’s Oil and Natural Gas reporting unit within the Process Segment.
Additional information on the comparability of results is included in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
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