Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Acquired by Comerica Bank

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its holdings in Graco Inc. by 10.7%, now owning 126,516 shares valued at approximately $10.57 million.
• Graco's stock has a current price target of $94.50 following recent analyst upgrades, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy".
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, yielding 1.3% annually.

Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 10.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 126,516 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,228 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned 0.08% of Graco worth $10,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the first quarter worth $352,000. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 2,474.0% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 128,702 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,748,000 after purchasing an additional 123,702 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 63.1% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,413 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321 shares during the last quarter. Maren Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 15.2% during the first quarter. Maren Capital LLC now owns 685,015 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $57,206,000 after purchasing an additional 90,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 2,375,100.0% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 23,752 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,984,000 after purchasing an additional 23,751 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE GGG traded down $0.80 on Friday, reaching $85.31. 578,971 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 672,850. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $85.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.23. The company has a market cap of $14.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.04. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.06 and a 12 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $590.57 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were paid 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 of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Graco 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.