Regents Gate Capital LLP Makes New Investment in Graco Inc. $GGG

Regents Gate Capital LLP acquired a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 40,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,499,000. Graco comprises 1.2% of Regents Gate Capital LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 5.6% in the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of Graco by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 36,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,156,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Graco by 0.8% during the first quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 23,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,927,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $81.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.56 billion, a PE ratio of 27.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.07. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $92.86. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.34.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.02). Graco had a net margin of 22.72% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business had revenue of $543.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $563.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Graco’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on GGG shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird set a $89.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.00.

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.