Legal & General Group Plc Takes $46.45 Million Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGGFree Report) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 614,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,445,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Graco during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Graco by 2,650.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. Essential Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Graco by 78.6% in the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 982.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 43.2% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE GGG opened at $79.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $78.16 and its 200 day moving average is $81.62. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.51 and a twelve month high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGGGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.06 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on GGG

Graco Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Graco (NYSE:GGG)

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