Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Purchased by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 10.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 324,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,631 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned 0.20% of Graco worth $24,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Parcion Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at $278,000. BOKF NA boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 10,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $269,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 4.8% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 32.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on GGG. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $80.00 price target on Graco in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Wolfe Research downgraded Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Graco from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.40.

Graco Price Performance

GGG stock opened at $67.43 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.96 and a 52 week high of $95.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.89.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.02). Graco had a return on equity of 20.13% and a net margin of 22.40%. The business had revenue of $586.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $590.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Investors of record on Monday, October 19th will be issued a $0.2950 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 19th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.94%.

About Graco

Graco Inc is a global manufacturer of equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense and apply fluids and other materials. Its products are used in industrial, commercial and residential applications involving paints, coatings, sealants, adhesives, lubricants, chemicals and other fluids.

The company’s product portfolio includes pumps, valves, meters, regulators, fluid-management systems, lubrication equipment, spray-applied coating and finishing systems, sealant and adhesive equipment, and contractor-oriented painting and texture application tools.