Quantbot Technologies LP Buys New Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 219,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,632,000. Graco makes up approximately 0.7% of Quantbot Technologies LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 2,650.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 78.6% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Graco by 982.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 43.2% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on GGG. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on Graco in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Graco from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $80.82 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.51 and a 1 year high of $95.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $77.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.02. The firm has a market cap of $13.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.92.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted 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. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The company had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.11%.

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.