Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Graco Inc. $GGG

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $751,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $16,632,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Graco by 20,706.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 556,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,605,000 after purchasing an additional 553,688 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,157,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Graco by 87.7% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 721,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,092,000 after purchasing an additional 337,300 shares during the period. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in Graco by 37.5% during the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 135,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,507,000 after purchasing an additional 37,050 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Graco Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of GGG stock opened at $79.14 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.51 and a 12 month high of $95.69. The firm has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.16 and a 200-day moving average of $81.62.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.10. Graco had a net margin of 23.53% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The business had revenue of $590.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. Graco’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 37.11%.

Graco 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.