Aberdeen Group plc Takes Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc has invested approximately $496,000 in Graco Inc., acquiring 5,940 shares of the company.
• Graco announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.3%.
• The company reported missed earnings estimates of $0.75 EPS for the last quarter, compared to expectations of $0.78 EPS, while revenue climbed 3.4% year-over-year.

Aberdeen Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,940 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $496,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Graco by 149.5% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,992 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Graco by 13.8% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 70,117 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,855,000 after acquiring an additional 8,490 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the first quarter valued at $2,335,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Graco by 150.6% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,998 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 4,806 shares during the period. Finally, Novem Group grew its position in Graco by 34.5% in the first quarter. Novem Group now owns 11,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $994,000 after acquiring an additional 3,052 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock traded up $0.51 on Wednesday, reaching $87.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 214,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 815,545. The company has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.92, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.04. The business's fifty day moving average price is $85.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.21. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month high of $92.86.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio is 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.50.

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.