Madison Asset Management LLC Invests $46.89 Million in Graco Inc. $GGG

Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 620,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,890,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Graco in the second quarter valued at approximately $952,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Graco during the 2nd quarter worth $2,009,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Graco during the 2nd quarter worth $12,476,000. Oxbow Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,981,000. Finally, JLB & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 2nd quarter valued at $14,312,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of GGG stock opened at $82.60 on Thursday. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.51 and a 12-month high of $95.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $77.51 and a 200-day moving average of $82.07. The company has a market capitalization of $13.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.92.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.10. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The business had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.06 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. Graco’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th were given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GGG. Wolfe Research lowered Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on Graco in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Graco from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

Graco Profile

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco’s solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.