Man Group plc Purchases Shares of 79,615 Graco Inc. $GGG

Man Group plc acquired a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 79,615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,020,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Graco by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 21,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 0.3% during the second quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,562,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 5.2% during the second quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 43.2% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $79.14 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $78.16 and a 200-day moving average of $81.62. The company has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.92. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.51 and a 1 year high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.06 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. Analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.19 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 37.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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