Savant Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 416.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,101 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of Graco by 41.5% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 0.4% during the second quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 36,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,156,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 2.7% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in Graco by 6.9% in the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG stock opened at $81.18 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.18 and a 200-day moving average of $84.48. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $92.86. The company has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.71, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.08.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $543.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $563.07 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.72% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GGG shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.00.

Graco Company Profile

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.