Madison Asset Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Graco Inc. $GGG

Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 620,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,890,000. Madison Asset Management LLC owned 0.38% of Graco at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,396,470,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth about $161,949,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Graco during the second quarter worth about $97,625,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Graco by 1,636.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,011,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,888,000 after purchasing an additional 952,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec grew its stake in shares of Graco by 236.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,279,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,711,000 after purchasing an additional 899,174 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

GGG stock opened at $82.60 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $77.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.07. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.51 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.38 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.92.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $590.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.06 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Graco Company Profile

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.