First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 11,924 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,443,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,924 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.87% of Graco worth $124,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Graco by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 41.5% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Graco by 0.4% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Eukles Asset Management increased its position in Graco by 1.2% during the second quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 19,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, Bennett Selby Investments LP raised its stake in Graco by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 36,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,096,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Graco stock opened at $83.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.82 billion, a PE ratio of 28.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $82.13 and a 200-day moving average of $84.24. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.06 and a 1-year high of $91.00.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.73 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 in the prior 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $89.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings cut Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.00.

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.