Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Has $5.24 Million Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 16.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,557 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Graco were worth $5,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Graco in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 320.7% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its position in Graco by 316.7% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 116.9% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

Graco stock opened at $86.51 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $89.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.97. The firm has a market cap of $14.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.09.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.02). Graco had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 22.72%.The business had revenue of $543.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $563.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 19th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. This is a positive change from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 40.27%.

Graco announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase 15,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $89.00 price objective on Graco in a report on Friday, October 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Thursday, January 15th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.00.

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.