Ritholtz Wealth Management Makes New Investment in Graco Inc. $GGG

Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 47,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,027,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Graco by 154.2% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 64,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,466,000 after acquiring an additional 39,031 shares during the period. Addenda Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Graco in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,837,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 18.3% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 81,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,899,000 after purchasing an additional 12,575 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the second quarter worth $3,806,000. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 10.6% in the second quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 129,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,106,000 after buying an additional 12,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GGG. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $89.00 price target on Graco in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings cut Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.00.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock opened at $88.02 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $89.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.05. The stock has a market cap of $14.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.09.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $543.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $563.07 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.72% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback 15,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 19th will be given a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 40.27%.

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.