The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New $5.36 Million Investment in Graco Inc. $GGG

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 70,921 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,362,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GGG. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the second quarter worth $16,632,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Graco by 20,706.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 556,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,605,000 after purchasing an additional 553,688 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Graco in the fourth quarter worth about $3,157,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 87.7% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 721,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,092,000 after purchasing an additional 337,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in Graco by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 135,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,507,000 after purchasing an additional 37,050 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GGG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Graco 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 research note on Tuesday, August 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG opened at $77.42 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $78.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.43. The firm has a market cap of $12.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.92. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.51 and a twelve month high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $608.06 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.53% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

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

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.