Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Buys New Stake in Graco Inc. $GGG

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 58,743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,442,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 2,650.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. Essential Partners LLC grew its position in Graco by 78.6% in the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 2,540.0% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 982.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock opened at $77.66 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $78.30 and its 200-day moving average is $81.19. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.51 and a 1 year high of $95.69. The company has a market cap of $12.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.42, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.92.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its earnings results 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%.Graco’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Graco

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.