Bank of America Corp DE Invests $57.95 Million in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 766,490 Graco shares worth approximately $57.95 million in the second quarter, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively owned 93.88% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a broadly neutral outlook, with Graco receiving an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $95.00, compared with shares opening at $76.21.
• Graco exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.91 versus the $0.81 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $590.55 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, implying a 1.5% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 766,490 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $57,954,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.47% of Graco at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Port Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the second quarter valued at about $66,974,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,614,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new position in shares of Graco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $141,667,000. Man Group plc acquired a new stake in Graco in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,020,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Graco in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $474,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price target on Graco in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wolfe Research cut Graco from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Graco from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Graco Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Graco stock opened at $76.21 on Monday. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.51 and a 52-week high of $95.69. The company has a market capitalization of $12.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.75 and a 200 day moving average of $79.78.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $590.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.06 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.53% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The company's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 19th. Graco's payout ratio is 37.11%.

About Graco

Graco Inc is a manufacturer of equipment used to manage, measure, control and apply fluids and coatings. Its products include pumps, valves, meters, regulators, dispensing systems, spray equipment and automated lubrication systems used in manufacturing, construction, vehicle service and other industrial applications.

The company serves a range of end markets through businesses focused on contractor equipment, industrial systems and process equipment. Its offerings support applications such as painting and protective coatings, sealant and adhesive dispensing, lubrication, fluid transfer, water and wastewater treatment, and the handling of chemicals and other materials.

Founded in Minneapolis in 1926, Graco traces its origins to equipment developed for dispensing automotive grease.

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