44,271 Shares in Graco Inc. $GGG Acquired by Generali Asset Management SPA SGR

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired 44,271 shares of Graco Inc., worth approximately $3.8 million, signaling increased institutional interest in the company.
• Graco recently reported a quarterly EPS of $0.75, missing estimates, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share set to be paid on November 5th.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy"** for Graco, with a new price target of $94.50 following recent upgrades.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 44,271 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,806,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Graco by 149.5% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,992 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Graco by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 70,117 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,855,000 after buying an additional 8,490 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the 1st quarter worth $2,335,000. Novem Group lifted its holdings in Graco by 34.5% during the 1st quarter. Novem Group now owns 11,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $994,000 after buying an additional 3,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Graco by 59.4% during the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 16,677 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,393,000 after buying an additional 6,216 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on GGG shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Graco in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.50.

Graco Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Graco stock opened at $82.19 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.15, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.07. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.06 and a 12 month high of $92.86. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $84.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.03.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.57 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.05% and a net margin of 22.26%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. Analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Graco's dividend payout ratio is 39.01%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.