Vancity Investment Management Ltd Invests $539,000 in Graco Inc. $GGG

Vancity Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $539,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the first quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 2,650.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 78.6% in the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Graco by 2,540.0% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Graco by 982.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Price Performance

Graco stock opened at $77.93 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.96. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.51 and a 1-year high of $95.69. The stock has a market cap of $12.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Graco from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wolfe Research cut Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on Graco in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Graco Company 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.