Simplicity Wealth LLC Makes New $738,000 Investment in Graco Inc. $GGG

Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 9,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $738,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth about $161,949,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Graco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $97,625,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Graco by 1,636.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,011,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,888,000 after purchasing an additional 952,977 shares in the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its stake in Graco by 236.4% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 899,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 553,688 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Graco Price Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $81.54 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $77.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.14. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.51 and a 1-year high of $95.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.64, a PEG ratio of 2.52 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 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 37.11%.

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.