Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Makes New $258,000 Investment in Graco Inc. $GGG

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in Graco in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Graco in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 41.5% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 982.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new position in shares of Graco in the second quarter worth approximately $51,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Graco stock opened at $81.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average is $83.91 and its 200 day moving average is $84.31. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month high of $92.86.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $543.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $563.07 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.72% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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