Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. Makes New Investment in Graco Inc. $GGG

Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. bought a new position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Graco by 5.6% during the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased 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. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Graco by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 36,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,156,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in Graco by 2.7% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Graco by 6.9% during the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG opened at $81.18 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.08. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.06 and a 52-week high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.02). Graco had a net margin of 22.72% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The company had revenue of $543.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $563.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th were paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $89.00 price objective on Graco in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.00.

Graco 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.