Graco Inc. $GGG Position Increased by National Pension Service

National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 340.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,078 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,379 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Graco were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 55.4% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 9,811 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Graco by 72.4% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,908 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Graco by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 7.6% in the first quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 8,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 2.7% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $80.07 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $83.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.49. The stock has a market cap of $13.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.33, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.08. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.06 and a 12 month high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $543.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $563.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th were issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 20th. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 37.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GGG. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $89.00 price target on Graco in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.00.

Graco Company 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.