KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Has $5.07 Million Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Graco were worth $5,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 41.5% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in Graco by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 23,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Optas LLC increased its stake in Graco by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Graco by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on GGG. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Graco in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.50.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $80.15 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.06 and a 52-week high of $92.86. The business’s fifty day moving average is $84.78 and its 200-day moving average is $84.08. The firm has a market cap of $13.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.07.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $571.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $590.57 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

About Graco

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors.