Elevated Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 2,365 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GGG. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in Graco in the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Graco by 187.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Graco by 220.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tobam lifted its stake in Graco by 90.2% in the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG stock opened at $82.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $14.02 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.79. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $69.78 and a one year high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.01. Graco had a net margin of 23.16% and a return on equity of 22.40%. The firm had revenue of $553.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $562.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on GGG. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Graco from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Graco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.25.

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.