Brighton Jones LLC Purchases New Stake in Graco Inc. $GGG

Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $585,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GGG. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC bought a new position in Graco during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Graco during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Essential Partners LLC increased its position in Graco by 78.6% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Graco by 2,540.0% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graco Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of GGG stock opened at $72.44 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $75.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $11.62 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.89. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.96 and a 12-month high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $586.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.17 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 20.13%. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.20 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 19th were given a $0.2950 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 19th. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 37.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GGG. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Graco from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price (down from $95.00) on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, July 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $80.00 price target on Graco in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.40.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc. designs, manufactures and markets equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense and spray fluid and coating materials. Its products include pumps, meters, fluid-handling systems and spray equipment used with paints, coatings, sealants, lubricants and other materials. The company serves customers in industrial and process markets, as well as contractors working in areas such as painting, building maintenance and surface preparation. Graco sells its products worldwide through a network that includes distributors and direct sales.