Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Invests $952,000 in Graco Inc. $GGG

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 12,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $952,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 172,328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,126,000 after buying an additional 60,486 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake 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 valued at $45,605,000 after buying an additional 553,688 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Graco by 294.4% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 297,787 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,410,000 after acquiring an additional 222,279 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth about $3,157,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 87.7% in the first 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 during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Price Performance

GGG opened at $81.77 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.51 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $77.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71, a PEG ratio of 2.54 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 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th were given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. Graco’s payout ratio is 37.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Graco from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.00.

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.