Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 3,375 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC has increased its holdings in Graco Inc. by 0.7%, acquiring an additional 3,375 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total ownership to 465,169 shares valued at approximately $39.99 million.
• Graco recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.75 EPS, missing expectations, along with revenues of $571.81 million, marking a 3.4% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275, which will be paid on November 5th, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 39.01%.

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 465,169 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,375 shares during the quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.28% of Graco worth $39,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Graco by 9.1% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,911,372 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $336,261,000 after purchasing an additional 326,877 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Graco by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,390,940 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $199,667,000 after purchasing an additional 62,761 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Graco by 1.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,828,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $152,737,000 after purchasing an additional 28,795 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Graco by 7.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,797,477 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $144,194,000 after purchasing an additional 120,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Graco by 12.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,337,457 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $111,691,000 after purchasing an additional 146,424 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG stock opened at $82.36 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.07. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $72.06 and a one year high of $92.86. The company's 50 day moving average price is $84.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.02.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts' expectations of $590.57 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.05% and a net margin of 22.26%.The company's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on GGG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.50.

Graco Company 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.

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