Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Invests $538,000 in Graco Inc. $GGG

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,118 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $538,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 330,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,592,000 after buying an additional 44,573 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 982.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 97.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 559.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 108,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,293,000 after acquiring an additional 91,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 4.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 21,289 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,830,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock opened at $78.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.92. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.51 and a 1 year high of $95.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $77.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.83.

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 company 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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