Korea Investment CORP Acquires New Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Korea Investment CORP acquired a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 122,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,286,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in Graco by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 172,328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,126,000 after buying an additional 60,486 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Graco by 20,706.4% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 556,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,605,000 after buying an additional 553,688 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth about $3,157,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 87.7% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 721,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,092,000 after acquiring an additional 337,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in shares of Graco by 37.5% in the 1st quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 135,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,507,000 after acquiring an additional 37,050 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $80.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.92. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.51 and a 52-week high of $95.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.98 billion, a PE ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.92.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $590.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.06 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.53% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 20th. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 37.11%.

Graco Company 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.