Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Purchased by Valley Wealth Managers Inc.

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 18.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,197 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.9% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 0.3% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 66,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,260,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Harvey Investment Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 4.0% in the first quarter. Harvey Investment Co. LLC now owns 5,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.B. Root & Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 12,421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG stock traded up $1.74 during trading on Thursday, reaching $80.54. 770,867 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 723,119. The company has a market cap of $13.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.82. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.78 and a 52-week high of $94.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $80.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.65.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.01%. The business had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GGG. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.75.

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.