VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases Shares of 294,200 Graco Inc. $GGG

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 294,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,244,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Graco by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 330,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,592,000 after purchasing an additional 44,573 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $42,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 97.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 559.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 108,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,293,000 after purchasing an additional 91,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 21,289 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,830,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report 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 stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Graco from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price target on Graco in a research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Graco Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of GGG stock opened at $77.93 on Tuesday. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.51 and a 1 year high of $95.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $78.42 and its 200-day moving average is $80.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.92.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.10. Graco had a net margin of 23.53% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The business had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.