BlackRock Inc. Makes New Investment in Graco Inc. $GGG

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 18,469,389 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,396,470,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 11.40% of Graco at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter worth about $161,949,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Graco during the second quarter valued at approximately $97,625,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Graco by 1,636.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,011,196 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,888,000 after buying an additional 952,977 shares during the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 236.4% in the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,279,553 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $108,711,000 after buying an additional 899,174 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 20,706.4% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 556,362 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $45,605,000 after acquiring an additional 553,688 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Graco from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Graco from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Graco Trading Down 1.1%

GGG opened at $81.77 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.51 and a 12-month high of $95.69. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $77.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.03. The company has a market capitalization of $13.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.92.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $608.06 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.53% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th were given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 20th. Graco's payout ratio is presently 37.11%.

Graco Profile

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco's solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company's product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.

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