Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Purchased by Engineers Gate Manager LP

Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 94.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 102,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 49,678 shares during the quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP’s holdings in Graco were worth $7,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the second quarter valued at $16,632,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Graco by 20,706.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 337,300 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Graco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $100,157,000. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted 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 valued at $11,507,000 after acquiring an additional 37,050 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Price Performance

GGG opened at $75.95 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.51 and a 12 month high of $95.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $78.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.49.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $590.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.06 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.Graco’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc is a manufacturer of equipment used to manage, measure, control and apply fluids and coatings. Its products include pumps, valves, meters, regulators, dispensing systems, spray equipment and automated lubrication systems used in manufacturing, construction, vehicle service and other industrial applications.

The company serves a range of end markets through businesses focused on contractor equipment, industrial systems and process equipment. Its offerings support applications such as painting and protective coatings, sealant and adhesive dispensing, lubrication, fluid transfer, water and wastewater treatment, and the handling of chemicals and other materials.

Founded in Minneapolis in 1926, Graco traces its origins to equipment developed for dispensing automotive grease.