Waverly Advisors LLC Invests $943,000 in Graco Inc. $GGG

Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $943,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $161,949,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Graco by 1,636.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,011,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,888,000 after acquiring an additional 952,977 shares during the period. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec grew its stake in shares of Graco by 236.4% in the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,279,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,711,000 after acquiring an additional 899,174 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Graco by 20,706.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 553,688 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Graco by 80.6% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 954,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,785,000 after acquiring an additional 426,001 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of Graco stock opened at $79.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $75.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.52. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.51 and a 52-week high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.10. Graco had a net margin of 23.53% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The company had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $608.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 37.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Graco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wolfe Research downgraded Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

About Graco

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.