Hoese & Co LLP Makes New $232,000 Investment in Graco Inc. $GGG

Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in Graco during the first quarter worth $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of Graco by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Graco by 982.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 2nd quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG opened at $82.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $84.62 and a 200 day moving average of $84.00. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $590.57 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. Graco’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.50.

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.