QRG Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 17.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,636 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $2,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in Graco by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 2.7% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 0.8% during the first quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 23,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $83.43 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.12. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $72.06 and a one year high of $92.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.59, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.07.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $590.57 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Graco’s payout ratio is 39.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.50.

About Graco

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors.