Meeder Asset Management Inc. Invests $1.09 Million in Graco Inc. $GGG

Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 12,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,094,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Graco by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 398,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,652,000 after purchasing an additional 98,141 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 172,328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,126,000 after buying an additional 60,486 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Graco by 40.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 45,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,869,000 after buying an additional 13,130 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Graco by 20,706.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 556,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,605,000 after buying an additional 553,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Graco by 294.4% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 297,787 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,410,000 after buying an additional 222,279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $92.00 target price (down from $95.00) on shares of Graco in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research cut shares of Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.50.

Graco Price Performance

GGG opened at $73.59 on Tuesday. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.51 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $75.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.97, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.93.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $540.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.35 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.96% and a return on equity of 18.66%. Graco’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 38.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrea Helen Simon purchased 1,240 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $80.53 per share, for a total transaction of $99,857.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,857.20. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

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.