Element Capital Management LLC Takes $2.69 Million Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Element Capital Management LLC purchased 32,230 shares of Graco Inc. during the first quarter, valued at approximately $2.69 million.
• Graco reported earnings per share of $0.75 for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78, with revenue of $571.81 million.
• Graco has a dividend yield of 1.3%, with a recent quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share announced and paid on August 6th.

Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 32,230 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,692,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Graco by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,322 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,553,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,001 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 9,914 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $836,000 after acquiring an additional 3,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,532 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:GGG traded up $1.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $86.19. The company had a trading volume of 1,149,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 822,347. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.04. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $85.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.13. 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 released its 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 company had revenue of $571.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $590.57 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were given 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 currently 39.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Three 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.