Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Purchased by National Pension Service

National Pension Service raised its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 42.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,570 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,527 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Graco were worth $2,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its position in shares of Graco by 94.0% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 102,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,753,000 after acquiring an additional 49,678 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 409.1% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 13,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 11,230 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Graco by 5.4% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 47,534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,455 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Graco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,935,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Graco by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,090,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $158,039,000 after purchasing an additional 146,032 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GGG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Graco from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

Graco Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Graco stock opened at $76.69 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.92. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.51 and a twelve month high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.10. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The business had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

About Graco

Graco Inc is a manufacturer of equipment used to manage, measure, control and apply fluids and coatings. Its products include pumps, valves, meters, regulators, dispensing systems, spray equipment and automated lubrication systems used in manufacturing, construction, vehicle service and other industrial applications.

The company serves a range of end markets through businesses focused on contractor equipment, industrial systems and process equipment. Its offerings support applications such as painting and protective coatings, sealant and adhesive dispensing, lubrication, fluid transfer, water and wastewater treatment, and the handling of chemicals and other materials.

Founded in Minneapolis in 1926, Graco traces its origins to equipment developed for dispensing automotive grease.