EP Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 30.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GGG. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Graco by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Graco stock opened at $83.28 on Monday. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $92.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.46.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The business had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $526.98 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. Graco’s payout ratio is 38.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, DA Davidson set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.00.

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.